


Facing Change

by OptimisticLady



Category: True Blood (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Godric/Eric is implied
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2019-07-07 06:58:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 85,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15903216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimisticLady/pseuds/OptimisticLady
Summary: All she wanted to do was run away from her problems, so Alice Carter ran across the world... and straight into Eric Northman. Naturally, that meant life wasn't going to be quiet - life was going to get a lot more dangerous. Eric/OC.





	1. Arrival

Alice had to remember not to break the speed limit. She changed down to a lower gear and took a deep breath. 

 _It’s fine, I’m fine,_ she told herself.

Eventually she came to the exit on motorway - or highway? Freeway? What did they call them over here? - and had to loop back round to the other side of the road so that she was still going in the right direction. 

A sign told her that she was essentially on the edge of the town where she was going to be living, which was exactly what she needed. Alice needed to be about as inconspicuous as she could get, not attract attention, and have some peace and quiet.

After about ten more minutes, she quickly checked the map on the empty passenger seat and quickly took a left turn down the little cul de sac she was going to be living, and drove right to the end.

The quaint little house was concealed behind some hedges. Good. That meant a decent amount of privacy. Not to mention there was a poor excuse for a driveway as well, which meant she didn’t have to park her car on the street. Also good.

She pulled up onto it and switched the engine off, sitting in the silence for a moment. Alice rubbed her eyes, and looked in the rear view mirror to see that they were pretty red, and pretty dry. Her usual wavy ginger locks were beginning to frizz up from the heat too.

Perfect, she looked about as messy as she felt.

Thankfully it was a Friday, which meant anybody on the street was either at work or school. Nobody would see the stranger moving in.

Alice got out of the car. First things first, she managed to yank the wooden “to let” post (it had a big fat LET sticker over the top too) from the ground with difficulty, and tossed it behind the hedge out of sight. She’d properly dismantle it later on after sleeping. As bad as it was to nap after a flight, Alice couldn’t care less.

She opened the boot and hauled her large suitcase, duffel bag, and her handbag. How she managed to get all of those things up onto the porch at once, she would never know. Perhaps it was the thought of getting to bed quicker that gave her the strength to do it.

Alice unlocked the front door, pretty much kicked it open and dumped all her bags in the hallway before slamming the door shut.

The house appeared to be bigger than she was expecting, and she got it fully furnished too, just to save hassle.

The living room was to her left, the dining room to her right, and the kitchen was somewhere at the back of the house.

Either way, exploring could be done properly later. Alice made a beeline for the stairs and headed up to the bigger bedroom, and flopped down onto the double bed. Cosy. 

She was in and out of sleep for a good two hours before deciding to get up and go to the shops for some food. She needed to fill her fridge and cupboards after all. That was probably the only thing she didn’t have.

It was about a twenty minute drive into the town (or city, rather, Alice noted it seemed too big to be a regular town) and she also picked up on how sleepy it seemed. It was day time, surely there would be a few more people out and about - people like stay at home parents or kids skipping school, more of the those type. 

No, it was just mostly the shop workers by the looks of things.

Either way, Alice didn’t let it bug her as she went round doing a food shop. For the time being she had cash on her until her bank card and details got sent to her new home. Hopefully it would be by Monday.

Then she noticed something in the corner or her eye, and suddenly the quietness made sense. 

Alice properly turned to look at the fridges and saw plenty of TruBlood. It didn’t scare her, all it did was make her stop and think about where she was staying.

“Shreveport has got a pretty high population of vamps, ya know,” said one of the shop attendants, nearly making Alice jump out of her skin.

“Yes… I was wondering why it was so quiet,” she replied, and the man raised a brow.

“English?”

“I just got here today.”

“What made you wanna come here?”

“To be honest, it’s not a stranger’s business as to why I’m here,.” Alice gave him a small smile. “Please excuse me, I’d quite like to get on with my day.”

She pushed her trolley away and continued going through the lair of food and household items she needed. Perfectly mundane. That was what she wanted for the time being. Never mind Shreveport being full of vampires for now, she just wanted peace and quiet. 

Alice made a mental note not to go out at night for at least a week. Perhaps she was a little bit scared, but at least vampires could only get into a home if invited.

Eventually she was done in the shop and was able to get home. It was still summer, so sunset wasn’t going to be until at least eight or nine, so she quite happily lived in the knowledge that she had more hours in her day to do what she liked.

After getting home and putting everything away in either the kitchen or bathroom, Alice lugged her suitcase upstairs and started to unpack that into her wardrobe and chest of drawers. For the second time that day, she collapsed back onto her bed, positively exhausted.

She’d go exploring properly tomorrow, when there were more people about. More human people about, that is. She’d never met a vampire before and didn’t want to tick it off the bucket list so quickly.

 _Peace and quiet… I need peace and quiet…_ she kept telling herself. Alice knew that her own curiosity could be her downfall at the best of times, but luckily it was only contained to her school days. And university. Still technically school, just for the supposedly adult.

Alice reached for her hand bag, where her new phone was. She’d picked one up on the way from the airport, and hadn’t set it up properly yet. For the time being she was using a pay-as-you-go type mobile, since she didn’t have all the things she needed to have a proper contract phone yet.

She now had a chance to pop in the SIM card, and use a small bit of data to message her sister.

_Hey, it’s Alice._  
_I’m here and all safe._  
_I’ll be alright._  
_Please don’t tell anyone where I am._  
_If mum wants to send something, she has to give it to you.  
_ _Much love x_

After she hit send, Alice had an inkling that her sister wouldn’t answer until the morning. With a set of twins, who could tell what ten o’clock at night in the UK would bring?

Sighing, Alice then put her phone on the bedside table, opting to go make dinner and read a book until bed. She wasn’t going to have internet until Monday. Might as well make some better use of her time.


	2. Scent

Sunset being this late meant that there was really not much time for vampire to do what they wanted to at night - which, ironically, was to be able to live. What was the point of even getting up if there was something along of the lines of seven hours of night time?

_ Whatever… _ Eric thought as he got ready for work that night. He did take some sort of pride in personal grooming, particularly with his hair… shoulder length and for some reason, humans at this bar really liked to play with it. He should probably get it cut at some point but… could he be bothered? Probably not.

After about forty five minutes of sorting himself out, he met Pam downstairs. She was waiting by their front door with her arms folded, a permanent stance for the woman.

“What took ya so long?” she asked him as they pulled on their jackets and left the house.

Eric merely glanced at her and didn’t respond.

“Straightening your hair again?” Pam carried on prompting.

“...Maybe.”

She sighed, and their walking turned into them flying in silence towards the centre of Shreveport.

Then all of a sudden, Eric dived down to the street and started running. Confused, Pam followed him regardless and watched him come to a stop at a corner.

“Can you smell that?”

“What?”

“Seriously?”

“Okay, Yeah, I get what ya mean now,” Pam huffed, unimpressed with how Eric was very much looking lost and confused. Why he’d dropped down to the street and skidded to a halt on their way to work, she would never know. “It’s probably just a better flavoured human. No biggie.”

He ignored her, and began walking off in the completely wrong direction.

“Eric!”

“I’ll meet you at Fangtasia, Pamela…” Eric stopped and glanced back at his child, giving her a ‘shoo’ gesture with his hands. She rolled her eyes but did as he said as she sped off into the night.

Shaking his head, Eric wandered off on a casual stroll into the suburbs of Shreveport. The different scents of various humans came to him, all tempting and mouth watering, but they could do nothing to mask the one he was following. It was all over most of the freeway nearby, and in the most central part of the city.

It reminded him of when Sookie Stackhouse has wandered into his bar the other night, but it was still a unique scent that he had to figure out. Who or what could be producing something that strong? He couldn’t not leave it be. He  _ had  _ to know.

His walk must have lasted a good half an hour or forty five minutes before he got to a dead end.

Literally.

Although that’s where it seemed to be the strongest.

He probably wouldn’t have been able to guess there was a house at the end of this particular street if it weren’t for the fact the smell was attacking his senses by this point, and there was a light on. The house was hidden away, which meant someone clearly didn’t want to be found, or have any attention drawn to them.

Eric moved towards the driveway, and silently crept round the hedge, nearly tripping over something - wood. He took a closer look to see it was one of those let signs.

He frowned. If someone wanted to hide, why move to one of the places with an incredibly high amount of vampires?

The sound of someone clearing their throat got his attention.

Eric looked at the house, to see perhaps one of the smallest women he had met - in the twenty first century at least - standing on her porch, inquisitively pissed off. Her facial expression was about as fiery as her hair.

“May I help you?”

English. Very upper class English.

“Wrong address,” he replied, shrugging, and pretending to be as innocent as possible. “Tripped over your sign here…” he gestured to the post on the ground.

“Are you about to make some comment about me being new in town?” She folded her arms, and Eric had to refrain from laughing. She looked like a child.

“Oh no, definitely not,” he was grinning at her now, meaning she raised an eyebrow.

“Something funny?”

“Hmm, nope.” Eric tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear. “Definitely not!”

The little woman still appeared to be unimpressed. “You should probably go.”

“I probably should,” Eric agreed. “Although could I ask your name?”

“Why?”

“It’d be rude not to.” He folded his arms, mirroring her stance.

“How do I know you’re not some weirdo who’s going to come and break back into my house?”

“I only do that after the  _ third _ meeting.”

The woman smirked. Okay, so she did have a sense of humour.

“I’m Alice,” she said. “Alice Carter.”

“I’m Eric. Eric Northman,” he replied, crouching down and breaking a small bit of wood off the post. He didn’t look at her to see the reaction to that. Standing up, he pulled a business card out of his pocket along with… a hair tie, apparently, and attached it to the bit of wood before chucking it to Alice. She fumbled a little trying to catch it.

“What’s this?”

“You should come to my bar sometime,” he said, shrugging. “Anyway I should uh… go find the right house on the right street, shouldn’t I?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Alice had visibly relaxed, her arms no longer folded but she clutched the bit of wood like her life depended on it. “Good night, Eric Northman.”

“Good night, Miss Carter,” he replied with a little wave, before wandering off her property. He heard the front door shut with a quiet click and he dropped his friendly expression as he walked back up the road. He felt like he could breathe properly again - not that he needed to, but his chest had been feeling tight without him realising.

_ What the hell? _

What was she?  _ Who _ was she? And why was she here in Shreveport of all places?

Eric’s mine flooded with more and more questions about the beautiful smelling woman as he got to the end of her street, when he heard a pattering of running feet behind him. The tightness in his chest was back as he held his breath for lungs that did not need to breathe.

He stopped and waited for her to catch up. She was all wrapped up in an oversized cardigan and had run down the road without any shoes on. She thrust out her hand to give him something, and Eric raised an eyebrow when he realised she was returning his business card.

“You’re a vampire,” Alice commented.

“Yes. Problem?”

“I’m looking for some peace and quiet at the moment. I don’t think me going to a  _ vampire bar _ is going to help with that.”

Eric eyed her curiously for a second before taking his card back and pocketing it.

“Then why are you here? In Shreveport? There’s a  _ lot _ of vampires here.”

“You’re the second person who asked me that today,” Alice said, clasping her hands behind her back. Somehow that gesture just made her look sweet, which didn’t help considering how tiny she was compared to him anyway. Either way - Eric needed to stop thinking about her height in all of this…

“Okay. Do I get an answer?”  _ God, _ being the smallest amount of friendly was infuriating.

Alice considered his question for a moment.

“No.” She smiled at him after saying that. “I’m about keeping myself to myself. I don’t know how you managed to get the wrong address, but I hope you have a nice night, Mr Northman. I’m going to head back inside now.”

He nodded. That was fair enough. “Well, Miss Carter, if you ever find yourself curious about vampires, you know where to go.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Goodbye.” Alice gave him an awkward wave before setting back off in the direction of her house.

Eric watched her as she went, noticing how she did glance back over her shoulder at him for a second before she eventually disappeared from sight.

His dead lungs weren’t burning anymore.

As he sped off to work, Eric put the girl to the back of his mind as best as he could, except her scent still lingered in his nostrils.

He needed answers about her, and soon.

He could only hope that she might do a Sookie and wander into his bar one night in the next week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! So this is a rewrite from something I posted on FFN when I was about 14? I'm crossposting in there again as well. Thanks for the kudos and bookmarks so far. Hope you all enjoy the rest!


	3. Saturdays

Saturdays at Merlotte’s were always busy. Sookie was thankful for it, but she hated it at the same time. Trying to keep out the thoughts of hundreds of people coming and going throughout the evening was harder than her friends thought it was. Every hour or so, she would dip to the back and just take a couple of minutes to breathe and get her head on straight. She didn’t particularly fancy fucking up and answering back to someone who hadn’t actually said anything.

Luckily, there was a small lull in activity around about eight o’clock, which Sookie was grateful for. It gave her more time to recollect herself, and engage in a bit of conversation with her friends and colleagues.

“I’m surprised that people still even wanna come here,” she said to Sam, dipping behind the bar to chat.

“Well, people want something normal to do, among all the bad stuff happenin’.”

“I just thought that maybe it’d be busier in the day, not at night.”

“They probably wanna catch a glimpse of your new boyfriend.”

“Sam!” Sookie snapped. “He is by  _ no means _ my new boyfriend. In fact I’m probably not gonna see him again.” She straightened up when saying that, and walked off before Sam could even question it.

Sookie busied herself with customers, checking if they wanted refills or a dessert menu or the bill, and she kept up a more cheery, bubbly persona after that. A few less tables to wait on meant she had to put less effort into keeping up that mental barrier between her brain and everyone else’s.

Then something odd happened.

There was a big spot of nothing, and whoever it was just walked into Merlotte’s. 

The waitress turned round to see a red-headed woman of a similar age to her, very cautiously going to sit down in a booth and hide behind a menu. She toyed with the hem of the oversized cardigan she was wearing, and Sookie knew that this woman really didn’t want to be bothered.

But…

She couldn’t hear her.

Sookie couldn’t hear her thoughts.

She had to tell herself that wasn’t an open invitation to go and talk to her about it, and would only approach her to take her order, since the woman was in her section anyway. Sookie then glanced over at the bar to see Sam looking at the newcomer curiously too. She frowned at that - what could sam have possibly noticed?

Either way, Sookie wandered over.

“Hey! Welcome to Merlotte’s, can I get ya a drink or anything?”

The woman jumped a little, but settled when she saw it was just Sookie. “Do you have Despo?”

English. She was English. Alright.

“Come again?”

“Desparados.”

“No, we don’t, sorry!”

“Then whatever bottled beer you have, really…” she said quietly.

“Are you alright?” Sookie asked.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just… you know. Want to keep to myself.”

“Sure thing. I’ll come back with your drink, and if you’re ready for food… just say the word.”

“Thanks,” the woman nodded, and Sookie hurried off back over to the bar, with even more of a spring in her step.

“Sam!” she hissed at him, beaming. “I can’t hear her thoughts! There’s a big ol’ gap right where she’s sittin’!”

“Really now?” he raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m glad you can work a bit more peaceful, Sook.”

“It’s so odd though,” Sookie said as she grabbed a Budweiser from the fridge and popped the cap off with a bottle opener. “She’s definitely human - I got no idea why I can’t hear her!”

“Don’t go buggin’ her, though,” Sam warned as the waitress practically bounced back over to the red head with her beer.

“Here ya go,” Sookie places it next to the woman, still grinning like an idiot.

“Thank you,” the woman looked at Sookie quizzically. “You seem to be having a good night?”

“Oh! I wasn’t, but I am now. Ever since you walked in!”

“Personally I don’t understand how I could cheer up a person just by being in the room, but I’m glad I did anyway.” The woman raised the beer to Sookie before taking a swig. “I know it’s stupid of me to have a beer and then drive, but… if I order food now it should be okay?”

Hint hint.

“Right! Sure. What would ya like?”

“Just the house burger with fries please. Could I have the burger cooked medium rare too?”

“Sure thing,” Sookie wrote that down on her little notepad. “You’re super police by the way.”

“I’m English. It’s in our nature,” the woman gave a wry smile and handed Sookie back the menu. “Depending on where you go, of course. Not everyone has manners back home… and if I were to be  _ ridiculously _ polite, I would tell you my name.”

“Which is…?” The waitress prompted.

“Alice,” she said. “And you?”

“Sookie.”

“Pleasure. Now if it’s alright, could I sit on my own please?”

“Of course.”

The minute Sookie wandered away, Alice breathed a sigh of relief. That was probably the most intense interaction she’d had so far and it was only day two. It took everything in her not to down the beer that was in front of her.

The entire time she was sitting there, Alice could feel eyes on her. It made the back of her neck tingle, and she awkwardly scratched it to make it go away. She risked a glance over at the bar to see Sookie and a man look away rather quickly.

She took a small sip of beer and breathed, wrapping her cardigan a little tighter around her.

About fifteen minutes later, Sookie wordlessly brought her her food, which was when it began.

The right hand side of her head started to feel funny. Like someone was scratching at it. The moment she gently rubbed at the area, it stopped.

She started to eat, and a few minutes later it happened again - only on the left hand side. Alice tried her best to ignore it, tried her best to ignore the fact it felt like someone was trying to poke around inside her head.

She carried on eating, but it soon came back at her forehead. There was an odd pressure building there and inside her nose, and sure enough a droplet of blood appeared on the table in front of her.

Alice quickly wiped it away with a napkin, pulled out the right amount of bills for her food and tip from her purse, left them on the table, and quickly fled from the establishment.

Her day suddenly soured. She had been driving around the local area all day, trying to get her bearings, and now it was ending with this. Whatever this was meant to be.

Oddly enough, the weird feeling in her head stopped the moment she left the restaurant, but there was still a slight pressure in the bridge of her nose.

She got into her car and sat, taking more deep breaths. Her hands were shaking.  _ Not now, not now… _ she told herself. Alice could feel her heart hammering in her chest, and she had to keep telling herself there wasn’t anything weird about getting a bit of a weird headache and maybe a nosebleed. She was in a new country, after all. Probably jet lag. Or the weather. Or something.

She kept repeating those things in her head until her hands had stopped shaking and her heart rate had gone back to normal. Good. Crisis averted.

Finally feeling a bit better - still with the weird feeling in her nose - Alice set off back towards Shreveport. All she needed was a hot chocolate, a book, and curl up in bed. She’d sleep it off. That had a tendency to solve most problems.

_ Don’t look like an idiot… _ she thought.  _ Don’t draw attention to yourself… _

Yeah, a mighty fine job she’d probably done of that when running out of a restaurant. Once she started her job on Monday she could keep herself occupied, look like a normal person, and it would all be fine. Nobody would bat an eyelid at her, and the incident in Merlotte’s would be forgotten.

It would all be fine.

God, she was spiralling now, and her hands were beginning to shake on the wheel again. It was probably in her best interest not to think about what happened, because it would only set off her anxiety again.

_ So much for the tablets… _

After about a thirty minute drive, Alice relaxed upon seeing the signs for Shreveport, and knew she was nearly home.

She knew the route by now that she was able to switch off and just drive home, except she didn’t. She ended up driving into town, not thinking about where she was going. She pulled into the car park of a bar. A bar that she had read the name of once. And that was enough for her to subconsciously seek it out.

Face taut and taking a deep breath at how ridiculous this was going to be - and how it went against everything she wanted right now - Alice stepped out of the car, and headed towards the entrance of Fangtasia.


	4. Fangtasia

Alice couldn’t help but get out the car and head towards the bar. As much as she knew it would be a better idea to get back in the car and drive home, something told her that satisfying a small amount of curiosity wouldn’t do her harm.

It was at that point she finally realised she had been standing still a few feet from the entrance, staring at the door rather bemusedly. She came to her senses and finally registered a woman standing there, her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised. 

“Are you lost?” the woman asked her with a fairly raspy Southern twang, an edge to her voice that showed she wasn’t happy about having to be bouncer. “Or are ya actually gonna come inside? Because if you’re gonna come in… I’ll need ya ID.” 

It took a few moments for Alice to actually register those words before she scrambled in her little bag for her passport, approaching the woman and presenting it. As she passed it over, their fingertips brushed and that was enough for Alice to know that the woman was a vampire - she wasn’t exactly warm, but not freezing cold. Cold enough for it to be noticeable. 

“God you look younger than ya actually are.” The woman passed back the passport, giving Alice a wry smile. “Enjoy.” She gestured at the door and Alice stepped inside. 

It was so aggressively garish. The amount of red on the walls was… almost assaulting to the eyes. But it worked with the black decor. The music wasn’t exactly to Alice’s taste - she wasn’t exactly into something that could be described as metal. What fascinated her about that was how there were dancing vampires on little platforms throughout the bar - and they were somehow dancing in time to the loud music, but also sped up. It made their movements look more magical than they actually were.

Then what really got her, was catching the eye of Eric Northman sitting on a throne the other side of the bar, on a small stage at least a couple of feet in height so he could survey everything around him. She wondered how his ego could be so big that he needed a throne.

He gave her a curt nod as if to acknowledge that she was there, a smirk too - was he pleased it had only taken her a day to show up?

Regardless, Alice tore away from his gaze and wandered to the actual bar itself. A man with long dark hair and multiple tattoos served her, and he didn’t seem to impressed by her. 

“Alcohol or no?”

“Just a coke, thanks.” She got out her purse and put a couple of dollars down on the counter. 

“No surprises there…” he grunted, taking the bills and getting her her drink.

Alice bit back her tongue and had to force herself not to give him some kind of sarcastic facial expression as he handed her the coke.

She accidentally grabbed the glass where his hand was, and the strangest thing happened.

For a split second, she saw something - she wasn’t sure if it was real or not, because she was still in the bar and still with the man in front of her. Until he launched himself forward and in her fright, Alice stepped back. 

He remained behind the bar, looking at her oddly. Alice had her beverage, and the building pressure in her head was back. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and when she glanced around she saw that everyone was looking at her.

She made her way over to a table in the corner, out of sight of all the patrons. Over the course of her sipping slowly on the coke, a few nosy vampires would look over at her. At first Alice felt uneasy by it, but then she calmed. Something told her it was fine. They were curious, just like she was. No need to worry.

When her glass was empty, the woman from the door was at her table by an instant.

“My maker wants to speak with you,” she said. “Apparently yall have already met, so…” she shrugged and sauntered off, her stilettos clicking as she went.

Sighing, Alice rubbed her forehead and wished the weird feeling to go away. She then stood up and slowly made her way towards the stage, where Eric beckoned her to sit in one of the chairs next to him.

“You came here sooner than expected,” he mused, and she shrugged.

“I’m not entirely sure why I’m even here. I was… out and about, I drove to Bon Temps, something unnerved me and I ended up here…”

Eric turned towards Alice slightly, leaning forward with his own curiosity and intense stare. “What unnerved you?”

The way he was looking at her, the way his gaze was endlessly boring into her own, made Alice realise what he was trying to do. Not only was she trying to hold back a giggle, her head began pounding even further. That overtook the want to laugh, and instead she showed discomfort.

The vampire leaned back in his seat, visibly confused at how that didn’t work.

“If you want to know what unnerved me, it was the waitress,” Alice shocked herself with those words. What was it about Sookie that had spooked her? How did she know that it was Sookie trying something with her head in the first place? “Wait… hold on - I don’t know why I said that.”

Eric’s expression was dark. It was like he knew something - or at least had figured something out - and it didn’t please him.

“Does it feel like someone’s whispering in your ear?” he asked her quietly.

“I… yes? No. Maybe. I don’t know.” She felt her heart rate go up and she knew that Eric had picked up on that too. He shot her a warning look; she had to keep calm. Glancing around the room, Alice could see vampires starting to pay attention to them, one by one.

“They won’t harm you,” Eric reassured her. “Not while I’m in charge. I have one final question: what happened with Longshadow down there?”

He gestured with his head towards the bar, and Alice gulped. 

“I don’t know.”

“Describe it to me, because you’ve put every vampire in here on edge.”

“I touched his hand and I… I saw something.” 

“Go on.” 

“He jumped over the bar at someone. He looked angry. That’s all I saw.” 

Eric sat quietly, mulling over her words as he chewed on the inside of his bottom lip. Alice felt she could breathe properly, and let out a deep sigh. Her heart rate seemed to go down, and she couldn’t help but notice Eric’s eyes flicker over to her briefly - he knew it too. 

Then the most devilish look crossed his face, and he held out his hand. Alice immediately jumped up and backed towards the edge of the stage, her heart beating faster again as she knew what he was about to ask her.

“No,” she told the vampire.

“This isn’t a question, Miss Carter,” he told her in a deathly quiet voice. He almost spat that sentence at her. “This is a command. I said you wouldn’t be harmed by the other vampires in this bar, I didn’t say that I wouldn’t harm you.”

“Is that a threat?” 

“It’s a fact,” he hissed, stretching his arm out further towards her. 

Alice pursed her lips together, aware that the pain in her head was still there, aware that if she didn’t take his hand she could be risking death. 

So, reluctantly, she took his hand and he gripped hers tightly in return. 

Oh, the things she saw… flashes, but enough to tell her a story 

 _A knock on the door-_  

 _-An airplane journey-_  

_-A sleek hotel room, Alice crying on the bed-_

_-Kissing-_  

 _-Burning, the pain so much worse than anything ever-_  

_-Blood… so much blood-_

_-Sunlight-_  

 _-Darkness-_  

 _-Forgetting-_  

 _-Forever._  

Eric finally let go, and her arm dropped to her side. She stared at him, swaying on the spot ever so slightly as the pain in her head reached its peak and then suddenly-

Gone. 

She felt the pressure in her head instantly release and something warm trail down over her lips. Alice mechanically brought her hand up to face to touch the web substance, taking a look at her fingers to see they were covered in blood. 

Eric’s gangs clicked down, as did plenty of other vampires’ nearby. He took one look at Alice and seeing her eyes roll to the back of her head and her knees fold beneath her, caught her swiftly and ran to his office. He lay her on the sofa and locked the door, just in case a wandering vampire came along where they weren’t meant to.

He searched in his desk for the cloths he kept for any cases of the bleeds, and did his best to wipe down the human woman’s face and neck. Some of the blood had gone onto her clothing so there wasn’t anything he could do about that. As much as he didn’t want to have an unconscious, bleeding human on his sofa, he couldn’t leave her in a state.

Now: how to rouse her? What did they do? 

Ah yes. 

He took some of the sofa cushions and placed them under her legs. Blood flow back to the brain, or something. It had been a while since he’d done anything like this. He was still as lousy as ever at it, too.

After a few minutes, she came around.

“Don’t sit up,” he told her.

She stayed lying on the sofa.

“I’m going to do two things,” he then said,” and one of them is going to seem rather stupid, but it’s necessary.”

His fangs were still down, and he pricked his finger on one of them, crouching down next to Alice and offering it to her. She looked at it with disgust. 

“This will heal you, and allow me to keep an eye on you.” 

“Why - why would you want to keep an eye on me?” 

“Because I’ve met someone like you before.” 

Alice hesitated in responding, but instead elected to place his bleeding finger in her mouth and sucked on the blood coming out of it. Eric didn’t let her have it for too long, and eventually whipped it out of her mouth. A few moments later, Alice felt like she could sit up.

“Thanks,” she murmured, pulling her cardigan tight around herself. Carefully, she swung her legs off the sofa, and scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “Anything else to add?” 

“Not tonight, no. I don’t want you to faint in my bar again. Leave.” 

He wandered over to the door and unlocked it, opening it wide so that she could make her way home. 

Eric didn’t say anything to her as she left, but Alice quickly made her through the bar so as to avoid any stares and out to her car. 

She was glad to be on her way home, in all honesty, and she was back to shaking again too.


	5. Helping

Her bed was a safety net. That was where Alice went immediately upon getting home. She couldn’t take another anxiety tablet today, it was too soon for that. Her only hope now was to ride it out. Pyjamas helped too - pyjamas were soft, and comforting.

The only thing hated about pyjamas was that it was usually too warm at this time of year to wear a cardigan to bed with them. She was always transfixed by the bruises on her arms, and hated where they had come from. Tonight was no different, but she couldn’t help but notice some of the older ones were now completely gone. Alice knew that had something to do with the vampire blood.

She curled up in her bed, reading through the couple of messages her sister had left, and decided to reply to them in the morning. Alice left her phone on the bedside table and turned off her lamp, staring at the curtained window in the dark.

No matter how much she tried to distract herself from what had happened, there was nothing that would stop her mind from drifting back to Fangtasia. The same questions always popped into her mind: what did Eric know? What had she seen? Has anything similar happened in her family before?

Thinking about it only made her stressed. Alice rolled onto her back, tears in her eyes. She aggressively rubbed them back, taking a deep breath. She wondered if moving here had been a mistake, but how would she have known that something like this was going to happen?

She balled up her fists and thumped them down on the bed. Several times. Her breathing became more erratic and she sat up, flopping forward and hugging knees to herself as she sobbed. She hugged herself so tight that it aggravated some of the more prominent bruises on her arms and that just made her cry more.

Alice sniffed, trying to pull herself together - but at times like this it was practically impossible. She collected herself as much as she could and switched on the lamp, pulling open one of the drawers in her bedside table and taking out the packet of sleeping pills she kept in there for times like this. It had been long enough that it wouldn’t mess with the anxiety medication, so it was fine to take.

She checked the dosage on the back of the box - two was the absolute maximum she could take in one night. So she got out of bed and made her wobbly way to the bathroom, not bothering to turn on the light because she could find the tap just fine.

Alice popped two of the tablets into her hand, and put one her mouth. With the other hand, she ran the tap and awkwardly scooped enough water into her mouth so that she could swallow the pill without feeling it move down her throat. She did the same for the second one. She turned off the tap, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and mechanically made her way back to bed afterwards.

She lay down on her side, because that’s how she felt most comfortable in bed. There were still tears falling, albeit with less noise.

Soon enough she could feel the dizzying effects of the sleeping pills take over and was able to drift off.

If Alice dreamed at all that night, she didn’t remember it. When she woke up the next day, she was most definitely thankful for that, even if she had slept through till about half past twelve.

Almost berating herself for it, Alice knew she had probably needed it after the previous night, and she also knew it was down to the pills. And people said drugs were bad.

She got up and put on her white, oversized cardigan, already feeling more comfortable and ease while wearing it. Going downstairs was a little tricky; she hated dealing with stairs after periods of intense anxiety. Nevertheless, she was able to get to the kitchen in the end.

While she was pouring cereal into a bowl, her stomach knotted. No, food was a bad idea if she was feeling sick with anxiety, but she did need to eat. She tipped it back into the box and went to the freezer instead. She had a large stock of frozen fruit, which so happened to be perfect for smoothies. She could drink things, but not physically eat them. So that’s what Alice did - she made herself a drink to sip on slowly over the course of the next half an hour to an hour, and she would consider actual food later on.

She had to get her head on straight - she was starting her new job tomorrow, and she really didn’t want to be a mess. Alice sat down in the living room sipping on her cold drink, musing over how she could go about her Sunday in such a way that she wouldn’t have another breakdown.

She knew she needed an explanation, that was for sure. Eric knew something, and she needed to find out what he knew. Alice didn’t like being kept in the dark, despite the fact that right now now knowing anything was the reason she wasn’t going insane. She’d crumbled last night, but then again - it was so easy for her to do that. Perhaps living in ignorance for a little longer wouldn’t hurt.

For the rest of the day, Alice pottered about, preparing for the next day. She organised folders and contact sheets so that she could find her way around and actually get to the students she would be tutoring. A nice, quiet easy job. It had been easy enough to find clients about the town.

That took up most of the afternoon, and by the evening, Alice was curled up on the sofa reading yet another book. She had a tendency to keep a few books on the go at once, so depending on her mood she could switch between stories.

Around about eight o’clock, there was a knock on the door. Alice frowned. She wasn’t expecting anyone, and nobody knew where she lived except-

Oh.

Huffing, Alice went to answer. Upon opening the door, she put on a more polite demeanour.

“Good evening,” she said to Eric.

“Good evening. May I come in?” Straight to the point.

“I can revoke permission at any time?”

“That’s how it works, yes.”

“Then please come in,” Alice responded, almost with a little curtsy as she opened the door wider for him to step through. She couldn’t help but notice the way he surveyed her house after she closed the door. He obviously felt her staring, because he turned to the woman and gave her a very wry smile, before heading through to the living room and lounging in the arm chair.

Alice followed after him, electing to sit on the sofa with one of her legs crossed over the other, her hands clasped in her lap. She felt uneasy with the way he sat - as if he now owned the room. He was treating her arm chair like his throne at Fangtasia.

“What can I do for you?” she asked him, her voice taking on a business-like edge. That had a tendency to help her remain calm in a situation like this one.

“I’m going to be spoon-feeding you information. Slowly. Carefully. And you are going to digest every piece of it properly before I give you the next,” Eric told her sternly. “You’ve had my blood, Miss Carter, so I know how… _upset_ you were last night.” He said the word “upset” with such distaste, Alice was slightly taken aback.

“Right. So what am I eating first?”

“What you saw was the future.”

Alice was silent for a moment, before she burst out laughing.

“Yeah, okay. Sure I did.”

“You’re really trying to deny that?” Eric wasn’t impressed. “Are you that frightened by it?”

The humour dropped from Alice’s face. He definitely got her there, and he smirked when he knew that he had.

“Fine, I saw the future. Why _me_ of all people? I just want to have a quiet life for once, it’s been a while since I had one of those…”

“Yet you moved to Shreveport of all places.” Eric raised an eyebrow at her. “One of the most densely populated vampire areas in Louisiana, and I’m probably one of the more dangerous ones. And here you are: talking to me in your own home.”

“It would have been rude for you to sit by the window outside,” Alice quipped. “I’m not one to refuse a guest, unless I absolutely have no idea who they are.”

“And you know who I am? How do you know I won’t just kill you right now?”

She froze up, her shoulders tensing and her fists clenching. Alice took a deep breath and closed her eyes, counting to five before she opened them and responded.

“Please don’t threaten me in my own home, Mr Northman. I won’t respond well.”

“In what sense?”

“Please, just - don’t,” her voice wobbled, causing Eric to eye her oddly. He was far more used to people sticking up for themselves in a more… loud fashion, when it came to threats. Alice was being far too polite, and that struck him as strange.

“Alright,” he eventually said. “No threats. Not that I would have… you may be of some value to me. Providing you get your head wrapped around everything, which will take some time.”

Alice nodded, not quite feeling ready to speak again - her voice hadn’t quite got back to normal.

“I will leave you with two things: one is a warning. You smell different to other humans, and bleeding in front of vampires can set them off - it did last night. Secondly, you mentioned a waitress. I believe which one you speak of, and she… appears to have her own quirk too. I suggest you talk to her tomorrow.”

Eric stood up and made to leave, Alice pattering after him.

“Wait - are you going to help me?”

He was about to open the front door, but turned back towards her instead.

“This _is_ me helping you. Sort of. I wouldn’t normally but this… this is something I cannot avoid.” There was a nostalgic, faraway expression on his face that only made Alice burn with more questions, but she knew he would reject them on the basis of “spoon feeding.”

“Have a pleasant night, Mr Northman,” Alice then said. He gave her a curt nod before exiting.

She locked the door behind him, not entirely sure how she felt that went. All Alice knew was that she was going to have to tread very carefully at night time - she didn’t fancy becoming someone else’s dinner.


	6. Sookie

The next day proved to be just what Alice needed.

It was the start of the summer holidays for students, which meant her job started properly - tutoring kids that needed it. She had a many eager parents in the local area willing to pay her for her services, and quite well too. 

That was one thing Alice had been worrying about - would enough people want her to help and pay her enough to live? It was lucky she had enough savings to help her get by for a couple of months while she brought in enough income for there to be a comfortable buffer for paying rent, bills, and all that other boring adult stuff… just in case. 

So for the best part of the day, she found herself driving to three different places attempting to establish some form of connection with the child or teen, trying her best to help them with English. In the literature sense, of course. Not everyone was so brilliantly adept at analysing a piece of text. 

That was her day, and it was rather lovely. She didn’t feel tired, nor did she constantly linger over the prospect of going to talk to Sookie later on that day. In fact, by the time she was on her way to Bon Temps, she was glad that she was going to be able to talk to the waitress about what the hell was going on.

Alice pulled up at Merlotte’s around six, and headed inside with purpose. She glanced around, and unable to see Sookie, she headed up to the bar to ask the man with the dark hair flecked with grey where she was. 

“Sookie’s jus’ finishing up her shift,” he said. “Hey, weren’t ya in here the other night? Kinda left in a hurry?” 

She sighed. “Yes, that was me. I’m back.” 

He chuckled and held out his hand. “I’m Sam Merlotte, and you?” 

“Alice.” She eyed his hand curiously, and a little apologetically. “Sorry. I know it’s not exactly British of me, but I don’t do shaking hands. I can be a bit of a germophobe,” she added with a whisper, before smiling at Sam. He appeared to find that statement quite amusing, to say the least. 

Luckily at that moment, Sookie came out from the back. She seemed pleased to see Alice again, giving her a rather toothy grin.

“Hey! Thought I’d scared ya off for good! Nice to know I haven’t.”

“Could I speak with you quickly before you head home, if that’s okay? I don’t have your number so…” Alice replied a little sheepishly. 

“Yeah, sure - come on.” 

Sookie led her over to a booth in one of the more quiet parts of the establishment. 

“I need to really cut to the chase here, but we have a mutual… friend. For want of a better term. Something happened the other night and he directed me to you,” Alice explained. “Actually the something that happened, happened after I left here, after you unnerved me.” 

“I unnerved you?” Sookie seemed taken aback by that. 

“Sookie. Were you… trying to get inside my head?” 

The waitress’ eyes widened, and she gulped. Not the question she was exactly expecting. The silence was telling. 

“Okay. There’s apparently something I can do when I take people’s hands. Kind of like magic. Is… what you can do also a kind of magic, Sookie? Because someone was trying to poke inside my head the other night, and something tells me it was you,” Alice then said.

“I can read minds,” Sookie said after some thought, folding her arms. “But I couldn’t read yours. In fact, it was quite a welcome relief, but I did wonder if you were a vampire.”

“Well, here’s your answer,” she replied with a smile. 

“Why couldn’t I hear you?” 

“Something about me is… supernatural too. If I take someone’s hand I can see an instance of their future.”

Sookie’s eyebrows nearly shot into her hairline, and she leaned forward in shock. “No way.”

“Yeah.”

“What have you seen?”

“Some parts of the future of a mutual friend of ours…” Alice told her cryptically, and Sookie’s expression fell.

“Oh no. Don’t tell me you know Eric Northman.”

“I fainted in his bar the other night,” Alice admitted bashfully. “It was pretty bad so he gave me his blood… but he knows something about me, Sookie.” 

“Is he gonna tell ya?” 

“Slowly. I’m extremely prone to anxiety and he’s sort of taken it into account, I guess.” Alice frowned. Saying that out loud felt odd, and even Sookie found it bizarre - despite the fact the waitress had only met Eric once, she never thought he would be someone to take someone’s demons into account in how he dealt with them. 

“Probably because he knows what it is you’ve got to deal with. Doesn’t wanna overwhelm ya,” Sookie concluded sensibly, to which Alice agreed. 

“I don’t think he’s all bad,” she said suddenly. 

“I’m sorry, what?” Sookie was taken aback by the statement. “Alice, if you’ve had his blood, you’re gonna be thinking all sorts of strange things about him…” 

“Charming, but back to the topic at hand. My secret is safe with you, isn’t it?”

The waitress nodded quickly. “As long as mine is with you, we’re all good. Why’d you come to talk to me about it anyway?” 

“Mr Northman suggested it, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask you why you were scratching at my head.” 

Sookie pulled a face. “Is that what it felt like when I tried? I’m sorry, Alice. It didn’t hurt, did it?” 

“No, it just felt a little weird… anyway… I kind of want to get back home. Um…” the redhead stood up, as did Sookie. “Listen, maybe we could grab a coffee or lunch some time? It would be nice to have a friend around here.” 

“Sure thing!” she was back to her bubbly self again. “Give me your phone, and I’ll put my number in.” 

Alice did just that, and soon after they wandered into the car park and parted ways. She felt calmer on the drive back home, quite happily fixing herself a nice dinner the moment she got back. Not actually having to teach in a classroom also had its perks - she didn’t immediately have to mark anything or place for the next week. She actually had evenings to herself, and it was going to be bloody wonderful living like that. 

She knew Sookie was a potential friend, and if they both had some bizarre quirk going on with them… well, perhaps she could definitely be trusted. They must have been about the same age, and Alice wondered how long the other woman had been able to read minds. That was probably a conversation for a different time, when they knew each other a little better. _If_ they ever got to that stage. Alice was still feeling a little wary about the people here, but she knew Sookie was nice enough she wouldn’t cause trouble. 

Then after dinner, in such an introverted way, Alice curled up on the sofa with a book and read the evening away. She lost herself in a wonderful fantasy world, allowing the hours to slip by until she was rather rudely interrupted by someone placing their hand on her shoulder.

She dropped the book and whipped round, ready to attempt to fight off whoever it was and scream, but relaxed when she saw it was only Eric. 

“Learn to knock,” she said picking up her book and putting it on the coffee table. He remained standing behind the sofa, his hand still on her shoulder. He leaned down to her height. 

“Don’t you want me?” he whispered in her ear, and it sent shivers down her spine. Good or bad, she wasn’t sure.

“I didn’t realise there was any reason for me to want you,” she muttered in response, turning to him. A mistake. His face was right next to hers and as their noses brushed, Eric took the opportunity to press a deft kiss to her lips. Alice froze up. “Mr Northman, I thought we were simply acquaintances.”

“Hmm, I’d rather be more than that,” he purred, zipping round to start right in front of her. 

Alice’s heart was racing - in a good way or bad way? - but soon enough she was kissing him again. Hands on him, hands on her. It had been a long time since she’d been kissed like that by _anyone._ Is this what it felt like to be kissed properly? Because he was egging her on with his tongue and she was fully complying, which was when-

She jolted awake.

She felt a little bit warm.

Her book had tumbled to the floor after she had dozed off and she’d lost her page. Alice sighed as she picked it up, checking the time on her phone

Yeah, definitely bed time. 

As she trudged upstairs, her phone dinged with a message. 

 _I was wondering when that would happen.  
__-E_  

Alice scowled. How the _hell_ did he get her number?!

 _Have you been stalking me?  
__-Alice_  

_Only to find your number. Don’t worry, didn’t find anything else.  
_ _-E_

_Whatever.  
_ _-Alice_

_Sweet dream?  
__-E_  

_I dozed off. I’m actually going to bed now. I might let you know in the morning if you behave.  
_ _-Alice_

_Good night, Miss Carter.  
_ _-E_

She didn’t bother responding after that, and instead went to bed hoping to avoid another dream that involved Eric.


	7. Dreams

The next few days proved to be challenging - specifically night time.

Her day time was all well and good, Alice was doing what she did best: teaching. If anything, her job was a reprieve from her own mind at this point, because when the night came, so did the bad dreams. They always came in the form of Longshadow jumping over the bar, and it got to a point where it started to filter into the day time when she was trying to drive around for work.

She tried not to let it affect her teaching, but it did mean she appeared out of sorts for a majority of the week. The one thing she didn’t want to do was to admit to Eric that there was a problem, unless of course it got really bad.

Honestly, it was hard not to think about it, because the moment she realised she had a reprieve from invading images they would pop right back in there.

It didn’t help that the bad dreams in general were making some awful repressed memories come to the surface. As if her head didn’t hurt at the images of Longshadow, she would more or less shut down when all the problems from England came back to haunt her mind.

Not even sleeping pills helped with knocking her out at this point.

Alice debated avoiding going to sleep, but she realised that would end up making things worse, because she’d just sit there thinking about everything.

Feeling like she was in a Catch-22, she got dressed into her pyjamas and went to sleep.

_ Standing there as a mere observer, Alice watched as Longshadow jumped over the bar, like she did every night. It made her head hurt. Then something more presented itself to her. She saw where he was leaping to - towards Sookie, who was at a table with a woman bleached hair. Eric and Pam were standing there, watching too. There was another man too, pale, with dark hair - Alice could assume it was another vampire. _

_ That was all she saw. It kept replaying over and over in front of her, and she was locked in place unable to do anything. It was just a dream, just an image - it was going to be hard to anything in the slightest. _

_ Then she was shoved into one of the tables, and she flipped over it, landing in the kitchen of her old flat back in England. She hit her arms hard on the wooden floor, and she stared up at the perpetrator who had done it. _

_ “Why do you never talk to me anymore?” he was angry with her, raising his voice. _

_ “What’s there to talk about?” she replied calmly. “Without you doing this every time? You’re never happy with me nowadays.” _

_ He was fuming, but then something odd happened. _

_ Longshadow came and leapt at him. _

_ Except… the black hair changed to blonde, and it wasn’t Longshadow anymore. _

_ It was Eric. _

_ Over and over he went for the other man, until finally his fangs dropped and he properly attacked him. Alice wasn’t sure how she felt seeing that, so she looked away until it was over. He was practically dead. _

_ Eric was a bloody mess as he came over to her, holding out his hand. A little frightened, she still took it and allowed him to help her up. _

_ “You’re safe now.” _

Alice woke up in a cold sweat, shaking.

How she managed to sit up and switch on the lamp, she wasn’t sure.

She clutched at her tightening chest, willing the thoughts to go away. It was hard, considering she didn’t have much else to think about at two in the morning on a Saturday, although in her mind it was still Friday night. She could hardly phone Sookie, she was probably fast asleep.

There was one other person she could summon, but Alice wasn’t sure if it was the best idea. She was also aware of the fact that she still had the last remnants of Eric’s blood in her system, so she wondered if she internally called for help… would he hear it?

A tapping on her window confused her. Struggling to get out of bed and walk the few feet over to it, Alice pulled back the curtains to see Eric hovering outside. She opened the window and wordlessly got back into bed.

“You’ve been like this all week. I’m surprised you didn’t give the notion for help sooner,” he said, shutting the window and taking in her appearance. He frowned as he saw the fading bruises on her arms. “What happened there?”

She jumped and looked down at her arms, but realised if she put them under the covers she’d be far too warm. “Not now. Just… ignore it.”

“I can give you more blood to speed up the healing, if you’d like.”

Alice shook her head, trying to steady her breathing. “They’re nearly gone. It’s fine.”

“Alright. Explain.” He took a seat at her dressing table, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

“I had a really mixed up dream… like my past decided to blend with what’s about to happen? It’s getting more vivid now, and even saying or thinking his name nearly triggers it to flash through my mind.”

Eric sighed. “Do you know what self control is?”

“Do you?” Alice said without even thinking. Eric’s eyes flashed dangerously for a second while her cheeks burned. “I don’t even know what control as a concept is.”

He was bemused by that sentence. “You’re not even going to explain that, are you?”

“You’ve not quite gotten to that level with me yet.”

“Well, I better be on that level sooner rather than later - I can’t keep tiptoeing around you forever. Someone’s going to snap eventually.” He smirked at her.

“Do you mean you?”

“It could be you. When you eventually tell me what happened.” Eric cocked his head to the side, eyeing Alice intently as she tried to keep herself calm. He cleared his throat. “So… back to the point. No self control, hmm?”

“It’s… a new concept for me, let’s put it that way.”

“Have you considered… well, not controlling it - but  _ managing _ it like you would your anxiety? No, no, don’t give me that look - it’s clear as day that’s what’s wrong with you. Plus your pills are literally right there.” Eric pointed at her bedside table, and she angrily tossed them in the drawer. He chuckled, glad to have found some amusement in all of this.

“That thought hadn’t quite occurred to me…” she murmured, now hugging her knees to her chest. “You know, you’re the one who said you’re helping me. Why haven’t you tried to help me sort out control over the visions sooner?”

He shrugged. “I was hoping you’d figure that part out for yourself.” He was quiet for a moment, chewing his lip in deep thought before he said anything else again. “I have a bloodlust that I need to keep under control. Think of it like that. You take certain measures to make sure it doesn’t overwhelm you. Consume you. So you don’t fall into a pit you can’t climb out of.”

“That’s an interesting comparison,” Alice said.

“I’m struggling to keep control right now, sweetie. You smell better than dinner,” he told her dryly. “My fangs are just  _ aching _ to come down when I’m around you, but I don’t. It would be impractical for both of us if I drained you dry.”

“Well, at least you’re honest…” she rolled her eyes, not exactly reassured by what he had just told her. “Before we get back to the point, can I ask you something?”

He nodded.

“Have you ever killed anyone?”

“I’m over a thousand years old - what do you think the answer to that is?”

“Yes.”

“Does that scare you?”

“Oddly enough, no.” Alice frowned. “You were in my dream just now, and you killed someone who had hurt me. You told me I was safe.”

“Perhaps don’t confuse dreams with reality,” Eric warned her. “I’m not loyal to you, so don’t get the wrong idea about me. I’ll help you with this, yes, but don’t think for a second we’re friends.”

She pursed her lips. “Fine. Doesn’t explain why you come here so often.”

“I’m hardly one to refuse a lady,” he had a half smile on his face, “but I’m not kind. Understand that about me.”

“Sure…” Alice muttered sarcastically. “We’ll see how this Longshadow thing plays out then, and then we’ll see who’s right.”

He scowled at her. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’re so cold and heartless that I wonder who hurt you,” she mused. “Or if that’s just the product of being alive for so long you refuse to get attached unless you know they’re going to live forever.”

“Stop it,” he snapped at her. “This kind of topic is off the table unless I say so.”

The tightening in her chest got a tiny bit worse.

“I can’t keep tiptoeing around you either, Eric,” she then pointed out. “I’ve done enough of that the past year. So if you can be so blatantly honest with me, then I’d expect the same courtesy extended to me.”

“Fine. No personal questions or remarks though,” he agreed. “But back to the point?”

She nodded. “I need to somehow push back at it, don’t I?”

“Good girl. Now, if you keep doing that we might just get somewhere. And I have a favour to ask of you.”

“Go on.”

“I need you at Fangtasia tomorrow night. I may need your assistance with something there - the club will be closed to the public tomorrow night.”

Alice shrugged. “I’m not doing anything tomorrow night, so sure. Time?”

“About half past nine, that would be good.” Eric stood up, adjusting his jacket and going over to the window. “You know… if you manage to get yourself in check, I might just consider loyalty. I don’t want to, but I think I have to.” There was a far away look on his face, and it made Alice curious about what he was thinking about. “Good night, Miss Carter.”

“Good night, Mr Northman.”

Then he was gone.

Alice knew deep down this was going to continue to be a regular occurence, whether he liked it or not. The good news was that she was able to sleep a little better after that visit.


	8. Frustration

The journey back home was speedy.

Eric had a lot to mull over, and he could only do it in the safety of his own home. It was on the outskirts of Shreveport, down some country road and hidden behind high hedges - he liked his privacy too.

The house may have been a mini mansion for all he cared, and perhaps too empty for the likes of just him and Pam. Chow was a new addition, and sometimes one of the barwokers, Ginger, would occasionally stay there. On occasion, though, she was incredibly annoying but loyal.

Eric had to shake the thoughts of loyalty from his head for now, and he unlocked the ornate front door of his pristine white house and made his way inside. He was surprised at how homey he’d made this place, considering the blackout windows and the fact it was more of a modern build. He immediately turned right into the lounge and through to the back where his private study was.

He sat down in the big red arm chair behind the desk, which was in a nice little corner of the box room that was filled wall to wall with books. It was quite possibly the only place he could truly find some solace, but not tonight. Tonight was an exception.

He stared at one of the drawers of his old fashioned wooden desk, one that had been locked for the past fifteen years, give or take. Eric was still holding the set of keys in his hand, and he slowly flicked through them until he found the one he knew would unlock that blasted drawer.

He deliberated in actually opening it, because opening meant he was finally acknowledging his part in all of this. There was a file in the drawer, a white one. On the front a name was scribbled.

_ Alice Rosalind Carter _

He sighed and flipped it open. Only five pieces of paper resides inside this file, one of them being a picture of Alice at age nine. That was about the year two thousand, and Fangtasia had been running for a decade then. It was twenty fifteen, now,  _ god _ how time flew…

The second held something along the lines of a contract, or just very formal agreement that was signed by Eric. He seethed upon reading it, he hadn’t exactly wanted to agree to it but his maker had decided it would be a good course of action for him…

The remaining three pieces of paper contained information about Alice, all of which had been given to him when she was nine, so some of it was probably outdated. Although, the more he read of it  now, the more he realised that some of it was  _ what _ she’d grow to be like. Some of that was accurate. Some of it was completely different to what he expected. She seemed far too different than how she was  _ meant _ to be. It was odd.

He sighed and wished Godric was here to give him advice or tell him what to do. How was he meant to cope with an introverted, anxious twenty something who barely knew what she was capable of? He only had a vague idea of what she could do, and that was going to be bare minimum of helpful.

Eric grabbed a fresh piece of paper and a pen, then started writing our everything he currently knew about Alice, almost as an attempt to correct the various predictions he had in front of him. Some of it matched, some of it didn’t - not that that mattered. The current information was what was most important.

After sitting and reading through it, Eric added it to the pile of other paper, before putting it back in the folder and locking it away in the drawer. He sighed, putting his head in his hands. There was going to come a point where he would have to tell Alice  _ how _ he ended up in involved with all of this, but not yet. Soon. He wouldn’t know how she might end up reacting.

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Pam.

“Yes?”

She entered, resting bitch face on and her arms folded.

“You’re not telling me something,” she said.

“ _ Excuse me? _ ”

“Y’all always come in here when you’re in a mood and I don’t know about it.” Pam sat down opposite him. “Spill.”

Eric gave her a wry smile. “The redhead you enjoy talking about outside of work is something more than human. In fact she’s much like the lady you met that time who was in a relationship with Godric.”

Pam blinked. “O… kay… so why is it bothering you so much?” She paused for a moment, and then slammed her hands down on the desk. “ _ Hold the fuck up, _ are they  _ related?! _ ”

He had to hold back a chuckle at that reaction. “Yes. They are. There is one other than Godric had an encounter with, in Rome a very long time ago. I would not be surprised if she was related as well. Their… let’s call it  _ gift _ \- is hereditary. To a degree.”

She made a face. “Glad I ain’t dealing with this bullshit. Just do me a favour and don’t get…  _ too _ involved.

Eric was silent, and she groaned.

“What the  _ fuck _ did you do?”

“I gave her my blood.”

“Was that after she nearly died in Fangtasia?” Pam looked so completely done, and Eric had to take a deep breath that he didn’t need just so he didn’t get mad at her.

“She didn’t  _ nearly die, _ she fainted. There’s a difference.”

“What a weakling.”

“Perhaps if she sticks around me, she might get stronger. Besides, there’s something… off about the way she acts,” Eric bit his lip. “Without sound compassionate, it’s mildly concerning. Did you get that off of her too?”

“I mean she came to our bar and wanted to stay well away from everything, that was fuckin’ weird.”

“Normally everyone who goes there wants to die, but she was… curious.”

“And yet the curiosity was about death,” Pam pointed out. “When ya think about it. Vampires are death, you basically told Compton’s human that. Something ain’t right in her head.”

Eric licked his bottom lip while he thought over what to say to Pam next. It could be a stupid idea to tell her, or it might help them get to the bottom of why Alice was so hell bent on trying to keep away but failing at it. “You know… I spoke to her tonight. Everything from her elbows upwards had bruises - nearly gone, but they were there. She said she had a dream I killed someone who had hurt her. Wouldn’t be surprised if that was who had left the marks.”

“That ain’t good. None of it is.” There was a hint of sympathy in Pam’s voice. “My bets are it was a man that did it, and if I knew the girl better, I’d tell her I’d kill him myself.”  She shrugged rather nonchalantly after that, and Eric knew that whatever brief moment of humanity she had left to show was gone. “Consider killing the man if he crosses ya path, Eric, might do you some good to get whatever sexual frustration there is in your system out.”

“I am  _ not _ sexually frustrated,” Eric hissed, and his progeny laughed as she got up to leave the room.

“Eric,  _ please, _ you’ve been way more annoying lately. Maybe once the human feels a bit more at home here, you should fuck her.” Pam winked and left him with his thoughts again.

If anything, he didn’t want to admit that Pam was right. She’d rub it in too much if he did. Although he wasn’t against the idea of killing someone who had very obviously hurt a lady that he was mildly interested in - the type of interest didn’t matter, she was valuable to him. That wouldn’t stand. It was just unfortunate that the person in question lived all the way back in England.


	9. Longshadow

Alice sat in her car outside Fangtasia for some time before she decided to go inside. Only one other car was in the car park, and she assumed it must have been Sookie’s - Fangtasia looked shut.

A general sense of foreboding sent a shiver down her spine. She debated driving off, but knew it would just piss off Eric, so she reluctantly got out the car and headed inside.

Everyone stared at her as she entered and sat down in a booth closest to the door.

Eric and Pam were standing by a table where Sookie was stationed, and a rather nervous, balding man sat with her. A dark haired, broody vampire was stood near the bar, and Longshadow behind it.

“Excellent. We’re all here,” Eric said after everyone except the dark haired vampire stopped paying attention to Alice.

“Sorry, Eric, but who is  _ that? _ You did not mention bringing another human!” Well, it seemed as if the broody vampire had some kind of objection to Alice.

“Bill, Alice - Alice, Bill. Sookie is his, as you are mine.”

The redhead’s nostrils flared as she was about to dispute the statement, but a warning look from Eric merely made her cross her arms in mild annoyance. Alice calmed down within a few seconds. She’d ask him about that later.

The proceedings were boring. Someone had been stealing from Fangtasia, and Eric was assuming it was a human. Sookie was there to read minds and try to find out the truth, while the blonde vampire looked particularly bloodthirsty as time wore on. Witness after witness came through, and Alice could have fallen asleep were it not a flash through her mind in regards to Longshadow.

She jolted uptight, and Bill glanced over at her weirdly.

It all clicked together within seconds, and Alice began to get more jittery as the conversation went on, her foot tapping consistently on the floor in an annoying way. 

The final suspect was brought out - Ginger, one of of main humans who helped out at the bar.

Alice’s head was beginning to hurt, and her chest was tightening from anxiety. During the rather intense encounter between Sookie and Ginger, she couldn’t help but make eye contact with Eric from across the room. The vampire frowned at her for a moment, but when she gave him a very pointed look that was when he knew.

Alice stood up, edging her way towards the bar counter itself, trying to make it seem fairly casual despite the fact she was trying to get closer to Longshadow. Eric stood there, trying to carefully shake his head at her.

The moment Sookie and Pam realised that it was a vampire, Longshadow was launching himself over the bar towards the waitress, which was when Alice did something… unusual.

Perhaps it was the amount of adrenaline in her system due to the anxiety of the whole situation, but she managed to grab Longshadow’s ankle while he was mid-jump, meaning he didn’t make it to Sookie. The pair fell to the ground, but within a second he was back on his feet again and had thrown Alice across the room.

She smashed into the wall, whacking the back of her head so hard she dropped to the floor with her vision going blurry. She would have passed out were it not for the fact she saw Bill stake Longshadow, and that was when Ginger started screaming.

Alice scrabbled to her feet, and watched in transfixed horror as Longshadow vomited blood all over Sookie before collapsing into a pile of mush. Ginger stopped screaming for a moment to throw up, before she carried on again.

“Humans,” Eric said. “Honestly, Bill, I don’t know what you see in them.”

Mechanically, Alice headed behind the bar and found a glass, trying her best to tune out the conversation about cleaning up Longshadow. She found the spirit measures and poured some gin in the double shot, and tipped it into the glass, followed up with a can of tonic water.

“Are you okay?” Bill asked her, while Sookie headed off very quickly to the bathroom.

“That’s how vampires go?” Alice muttered quietly in response.

“If they are killed… yes.”

“Okay,” she squeaked out, sipping on her drink.

“Alice, dear, could you get a TruBlood for William, please? And then come to my office with him.”

She glanced at Bill, before grabbing one of the aforementioned drinks from the fridge and followed the two vampires through to the back.

While Bill sat down on one of the red chairs in front of Eric’s desk, while Alice handed the blond vampire the bottle of synthetic blood, which he unscrewed and put in a microwave he had on one of the shelves. She sat down on the sofa, deciding that it would be more effective to now down the gin and tonic.

“Mildly irresponsible…” Eric murmured. “Thought I told you not to pass out in my bar again?”

“I’m in your office. Slight difference.”

The microwave dinged and Eric took the drink out for Bill.

“Thank you,” Bill said.

“How do you stomach that stuff?” Eric questioned, going to sit in his rather lovely desk chair opposite the other vampire. He propped his legs up on a stool. “Don’t you find it metallic and vile?”

“I don’t think about. It’s sustenance.”

Eric chuckled. “If you’re their poster boy, the mainstreaming movement is in very deep trouble. TruBlood: it keeps you alive but it will bore you to death.”

“Eric, why am I back here? I kind of want to get home so I can scream into my pillow about this in peace,” Alice spoke up, quite matter of factly.

He gave her a single nod, not even bothering to question her want to scream into a pillow. “Bill, you killed a vampire for a human. What are we gonna do about that?”

“What did you have in mind?” Bill retorted.

“Well, if I had more interest in Miss Stackhouse, then I would take her. But Miss Carter is of more use to me.”

“In what sense?”

“Didn’t you notice me trying to get to Longshadow?” Alice then said, tilting her head curiously to the side as she looked at Bill. He turned his attention to her.

“Were you?”

“Yes.”

“But how could you possibly know what he was going to do?”

Eric eyed Alice pointedly and she could feel it, sighing as she realised what he wanted her to do.

“Give me your hand then.” She outstretched her own, and Bill took it cautiously.

_ Burning - Sookie - killer _

“What was that?” Bill snatched his hand back, almost disgusted. Then it dawned on him. “Hang on… did you know Longshadow was going to attack Sookie?

“Yes,” Alice replied, and glanced at Eric, who looked rather tense after that reaction from Bill. “Did… did Bill just see what I saw?”

“I believe so,” he did not seem thrilled by the prospect. “I only felt what you felt, so it must be… never mind, we’ll talk later.”

“I thought you were just… trying to be helpful when he went for her,” Bill brought back the conversation, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Anxiety is a funny thing, Bill. I was… filled with adrenaline, which is why I grabbed Longshadow. Regardless of that, I would have still tried to pull Sookie out of the way. But… no adrenaline, I wouldn’t have touched Longshadow.” She paused, making a face and touching the back of her head. “I wish I had been less anxious because my god, my head is pounding now.”

“That’s also the alcohol,” Eric pointed out. “Either way… Miss Carter has more use to me, as you can see. She could potentially prevent anything unsavoury happening.”

“About that… I don’t know much about vampire politics, but I’m willing to strike a deal in order to help Bill.”

“You’re right, you don’t know much about vampire politics. It was rather stupid of Bill to kill a vampire in front of vampire witnesses.”

“ _ So… _ like if a human killed another human in front of another human, that’s bad. Even if it was to protect someone?” she countered. “I’ll help you whenever you need, as long as Bill gets an easy punishment. I think Sookie would be heartbroken if anything happened to him.”

“You’re soft,” Eric said with distaste.

“Says you,” she said, deciding to lie down on the sofa now, placing her empty glass on the floor.

Bill glanced between them with amusement, while Eric rolled his eyes as Alice clearly dozed off.

“So you berate me for being with Sookie but-“

“I am not  _ with _ her,” Eric hissed. “It’s not like that.”

“You said she was yours,” Bill smirked. “But what is it? Because you’re less of an ass around her.”

“It’s complicated and I have to tread carefully around her.”

“Why?”

“She… she’s traumatised by something, I believe,” Eric’s brow knotted as he said that, because he wasn’t sure it that was even right, or if he should even be saying it to Bill. Especially because he and Pam had only started putting the pieces together the previous night.

“You’re actually being careful about that?”

“To an extent. I have to.” He glanced over at the sleeping woman and groaned. “I’m going to have to drive her home. Don’t think this isn’t over, I will need to speak to the Magister. See if you need to be brought before the Tribunal - which is looking  _ very _ likely.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to do it any other way - but if there  _ is _ a way around it… Eric, I would be in your debt.”

Eric gave him a cocky smirk. “I already have enough power over you as your Sheriff, William, I don’t think you would  _ actually _ want to be in debt to me. That’s rather foolish of you to suggest it, so I might just keep that in mind for the future… if you do anything distasteful again.”

There was a dark look on Eric’s face that made Bill shift backwards in his seat uncomfortably. Normally the younger vampire could keep his resolve up around the older one, but sometimes Eric truly did emit the power he claimed to possess.

“I… I should get back to Sookie…” Bill left his bottle on the desk and rose, wanting to get out of there..

“I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll bring you news.”

Bill gave a curt nod before leaving, and Eric went over to Alice, crouching down next to her. He gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder, which was enough to startle her back to reality.

“Still want to scream.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.” Eric straightened up. “Let me drive you home. You hit your head badly enough for me to be mildly concerned for your safety.”

Alice eyed him curiously before slowly getting off the sofa and followed him out the back exit of Fangtasia.

When they got to her car, Alice handed him the keys and got in on the passenger side. The journey back to hers was quiet at first, but then she had a question.

“Other than me bashing my head, is there another motive to this? You keep implying you’re not loyal to me, or nice, or whatever… but this is all of those things.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Remember what I said about spoon feeding? Well it’s almost time for that.”

“Make it now while we’re driving, I want to lie down when I get in, because it’s…” she peered over at the clock on the dashboard. “One in the morning?! That’s late - Jesus, that took a lot longer than I thought...”

“Fine. You can see the future when you touch people, you know that much. Well, when that happens, they will also experience too, just not as deeply as you. Enough to unnerve them.”

“That’s why you were pushing me towards gaining control, so I can stop that from happening.”

“Look at you - you’re a smart girl,” he smirked.

“Have to be. I’m a teacher, after all.”

She was quiet for a moment.

“What did you mean I was ‘yours?’”

“It means other vampires can’t drink from you, or touch you. If I were you, play along. Who knows what Compton could be capable of,” he told her. “Consider yourself under my protection.”

“So… I’m not… obligated to be with you.”

“Only if you want to be,” he smirked.

“Yeah, no.”

“Fair enough.”

They fell back to silence for the remainder of the journey.

When they pulled into the driveway of Alice’s place, Eric switched off the engine and handed back the keys. Neither of them said anything for some time; they were just staring at the house.

“Do you… want to come in for a bit?” Alice asked quietly.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yes.”

He nodded and they got out the car, heading inside. Alice slipped off her shoes as she turned on the hallway light, making a beeline for the kitchen immediately after, leaving the living room light on in her wake. Eric followed her through, watching her curiously as she now very shakily got herself a glass of water.

“Eric…” she turned to him as he leaned in the kitchen room doorway with his arms crossed. “I was only dozing in your office. I heard everything you said.”

“I know. Was I wrong?”

She shook her head. “No. You weren’t.” A beat. “Do you mind staying for a bit? I’m just… it’s starting to sink in…”

“Sure.”

“Thank you. I’ll - I’ll be right back.”

Alice wandered upstairs to the bathroom, where she set her glass down on the sink and held onto the sides of it, taking a deep breath. She needed to sleep- she needed to shut her eyes and not think about vampire remains.

_ Jesus… _

She tried to take a sip of water but dropped the glass on the floor, where it happily smashed. Her head was starting to swim, and her lungs were tightening. She clutched at her chest with one hand, still trying to keep herself upright at the sink with the other, but it was no use.

Alice dropped to all fours, one of her hands landing in the broken glass. She cried and hyperventilated, finally processing what had happened earlier than night and reacting terribly to it. She barely registered the searing pain in her hand, but she frowned at the amount of blood that was now decorating her floor.

Suddenly she was being hauled up and out of her bathroom, the hand towel wrapped around her hand now too - that got there quickly - she was then speedily deposited on her bed.

Alice was still struggling to breathe, and Eric wasn’t sure what to do - his only intention had been to stop her from accidentally slashing her hand to ribbons.

“Don’t look,” he said, crouching down to look at the damage on her hand. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, trying to focus on breathing normally again. Except flashes of Longshadow turning to mush haunted her eyelids and made her feel worse. She cried out and started to choke.

To Eric she looked like a frightened doe, all round eyed and unable to keep herself calm.

“Stop thinking about it,” he told her, in a more brash tone than he knew was acceptable. “I’m not equipped to deal with this, but you are. I’m not going to fix your hand until you calm down.”

Alice looked at him as if she couldn’t comprehend his words, so he rolled his eyes and busied himself picking out small pieces of glass from her hand. He tuned out her strange choking and hiccoughing sound. For the time being, he tossed them into a small pile in the corner of the room where she wouldn’t step on them.

After a painfully slow ten minutes of making sure there was absolutely nothing left in her hand, Eric noticed her breathing return to normal. She’d stopped crying as well.

He looked up to see Alice a little disheveled, but not looking like she was about to die on the spot. Her cardigan had dropped off of her shoulders and did her the service of carefully pulling the soft material back into its proper place. She shifted uncomfortably when he did that, and Eric knew now was not the time to ask what the cause of those bruises was. Another time, when she was less distressed.

He used the towel to clean up her hand as best as he could, and then sat on the best next to her. His fangs clicked down, and he bit into his wrist before placing it close to Alice’s mouth. She cautiously drank from him, risking a glance down at her bloodied hand to see the cuts heal up before her very eyes.

After a few moments, Eric retracted his wrist and fangs, taking her hand once more - he was careful to avoiding touching her palm.

Nothing was said, and nothing had to be because Alice was happy to let him lick her hand clean. It was a bizarre moment, considering how tenderly he handled her for someone who despised the very idea of showing a human any form of tenderness.

Soon enough, he was done, but he didn’t let go of her. They stared at each other with the same bemusement at what they had just shared. Eric knew that Alice allowing him to clean up her blood was a form of repayment, and the taste of it wouldn’t leave his mouth. The taste of  _ her  _ wouldn’t leave his mouth.

She wriggled her hand from his gentle grip, and toyed with his blonde locks, tucking it behind his ear and bringing her face closer to his until…

Yes. That was what they both wanted in that moment. Eric wanted more of her and Alice wanted a distraction - the vampire with her right now was definitely the most welcome distraction. His lips were cool against hers, soothing her. Strange. That was a new feeling - being soothed by a kiss. Had she ever felt like that before?

He took hold of her hips so that he could move her back onto the bed properly, pushing her into the pillows and settling between her thighs as he kissed her with perhaps the most enthusiasm he had ever had for a human in a long time. Her hands were running up under his shirt so he broke away for just one second to take it off.

The moment he was back to kissing her, Alice’s hands were back on his chest, taking her time to explore every inch of his skin. Eric went to go take off her cardigan, and she froze up. He pulled back again, and slipped the fabric off one shoulder.

“They’re gone,” he said. “May I?”

Alice nodded, and allowed him to take the piece of clothing off of her. They carried on kissing for some time after, until the woman decided to push the vampire away.

He sat back on his haunches, a little confused as he stared at Alice, who was frowning.

“Sorry…” she said. “I… I’m not sure why I thought that was okay to do.”

“You needed a distraction, which is fine.”

“No - I’m not going to use you for something as trivial as that,” Alice insisted.

“It’s  _ fine _ ,” Eric reiterated, putting his shirt back on regardless. “Why do you have so many qualms with it?”

She sighed, fiddling with the hem of her dress. “Tell me honestly - did you kiss me because you wanted to kiss me, or because you knew it was going to keep me occupied?”

“Both,” he admitted, “but mostly the first one.”

“Okay… why would you want to kiss me?”

He shrugged, getting off the bed and standing up. “Must there be a reason?”

“Yes, because it’s been some time since anyone kissed me like that.”

“You  _ are _ aware that I find you attractive, right?” Eric raised an eyebrow at her. “And not just because of the fact you’ve had my blood and I’ve now had yours.”

She appeared rather taken aback by that statement, and was visibly unsure of how to process it.

“I - well, no. That thought never occurred to me. Why do you-”

“Have you considered looking in a mirror?” he quipped. “That’s all I have to say on that for now. I’m going to be gone for a few days, sorting out Compton’s punishment - and yes, our agreement still stands. I’ll do everything I can.”

Alice didn’t say anything, still chewing over what he had just said about her while she watched him fix his hair in her dressing table mirror. She had never thought about him  _ consciously  _ in that way, and had been rather annoyed at the somewhat intrusive dreams about Eric. Maybe there was something else there, because she couldn’t help but be a little bit bewitched by his looks, and his brutal honesty.

It may have come off that he was being an arsehole, but what better way to know someone could actually be trusted if they were straight with you all the time?

“Could you kiss me again, please, before you go?” Alice asked him tentatively. “Especially if I’m not going to see you for a few days.”

He grinned at her in a devilish way. “Oh sweetie, I thought you’d never ask.”

In two steps, Eric was right by her, cupping her cheek with one hand as he kissed her for the second time that night. It didn’t last very long, and Alice was okay with that.

He wordlessly headed to the window and opened it.

“Good night, Alice.”

Before she could even say the sentiment back, he was gone, and she was left charmed by the fact he’d called her by her actual name for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally posted the wrong chapter, but my friend pointed it out to me! All corrected now.


	10. Honesty

Alice spent the next day feeling completely and utterly bemused.

She tried not to let it affect her while she cleaned up the glass from her room and bathroom, because she knew that if she stopped paying attention she’d probably cut her hand open again. Clearing up the blood stains on the floor was pretty fun as well. That was the first thing she did that day before heading off around the neighbourhood - that was when she was back to thinking about a certain blonde vampire...

Now, she didn’t have feelings for Eric in any sense of the word romance, but she most definitely wanted  _ more _ of him. Was that okay? Was it okay to want someone so soon? He was quite detached and she was okay with that - anything romantic was off the table for her for a while, but anything physical… that she would be fine with.

It left her quite distracted for the day. She almost forgot to pay attention to each of her students  throughout the day, and the older teen one managed to pick up on it and tried her best not to laugh. Alice knew that the girl knew what was going through her head - anybody who had been preoccupied by the thought of attractive boy was bound to be out of it in regards to anything.

It was strange what she thought of him now. He was most definitely an arse, yes, considering how he barely batted an eyelid towards Sookie and Bill the previous night, and constantly teased the other vampire, but Alice was in his good books so that surely had to count for something, right? It must have done, he did kiss her after all. She found it bizarre that he thought she was attractive, too.

In fact, when she got home in the early evening she did as he said and looked in the bathroom mirror. She didn’t get it, really, but maybe that was because she knew she did look a little bit thinner and a tad more gaunt that she normally would. Maybe it was her hair, it was the brightest kind of ginger/red it could possibly be, and it was constantly a wavy, frizzy mess. Alice liked that about her hair, maybe Eric liked that too. Or maybe it was her eyes - bright green and ridiculously round, always quite soft and innocent. The button nose? No, definitely not that. Or… her lips. They were alright. Eric definitely liked them otherwise last night wouldn’t have happened.

Alice still didn’t get it. She was, by all means, average. She’d take the compliment and run with it though, even if she didn’t believe it. It was something for her confidence and goodness knows she needed that. Even if it was from an annoying vampire.

She brushed all thoughts of Eric aside and realised she needed to go and see Sookie - she needed to see if the woman was okay after the events of the previous night. So after changing her thinner cardigan to the thicker, oversized one, Alice headed to the car and drove to Bon Temps.

Merlotte’s seemed pretty full that evening, but she managed to snag the booth she had sat in last time, and thankfully, Sookie immediately came over to Alice an sat down opposite her.

“Are you okay?” both woman asked at the same time. Alice gestured for Sookie to carry on.

“I had to stay at Bill’s last night because someone decided to kill my cat,” the waitress said with a stony look on her face. Alice’s eyebrows shot right up.

“ _ What? _ I’m so sorry, Sookie, that’s awful.”

“And so soon after my gran as well… how much do you know about Bon Temps?”

Alice shrugged. “Not very much, actually. Why?”

“There’s someone goin’ round killing girls who’ve been with vampires, and… I think whoever it was is after me because they got my gran. I think I was the intended person, and now they’ve killed my cat too!”

Alice didn’t know what to say to that, but all she could do was purse her lips together in worry - this was not what she was expecting at all in the slightest.

“So… today’s not been good then?” she eventually offered.

Sookie sighed. “Not really, no. Pam pulled a chunk of Longshadow out of my cleavage last night as well. Speakin’ of, what happened with you?”

“Um…” Alice wasn’t sure how much detail she should go in about the previous night, but she definitely knew not to mention kissing Eric. “Well, Eric drove me home, mainly because I properly whacked my head when I got thrown into that wall and he didn’t trust me to drive. I had a minor freak out about the whole thing when I got home, but… I’m fine now. Just trying not to think about it really.”

“He drove you home?” Sookie made a strange face, as if she didn’t believe he could something so mundane and human.

“Yes, he did. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, I just wouldn’t have expected him to… just be careful around him, he’s not the nicest person.” The waitress stood up and pulled out her notepad. “What do you wanna drink?”

“Just some coke, please.”

Sookie nodded and set off while Alice mulled over the passing remark from her about Eric not being nice. He wasn’t nice, that much was obvious, but that was probably down to the fact he knew what he wanted and was incredibly blunt. It was better than him faking an entire personality, though.

The evening passed quietly and Alice didn’t really eat much apart from some fries. She was there mainly to see Sookie, and the only good thing was that the waitress was in one piece. The idea of a murderer in such a small town made Alice relieved she lived in Shreveport and only ever made fleeting visits, and would only ever made fleeting visits.

Then the night got weird.

Eric, Pam, Bill, and a new vampire she had never seen before showed up. She assumed it was to do with the fact they were going to be heading off for a few days and Bill wanted to say goodbye to Sookie. He wandered off to the back of the restaurant.

The redhead kept her head down, only throwing the vampires a cautious glance every now and then as they went round handing out flyers for Fangtasia. She didn’t want to look at Eric, because she didn’t want to give herself away to the fact she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him all day. Her palms started to get a little clammy at the thought, and it didn’t help when he properly clocked her, and came to sit on the edge of her table.

“Would a quiet lady such as yourself be interested in heading down at all?” he remarked, scribbling something on one of the flyers before sliding it to her. Eric had written  _ “play along” _ on it. “If I like you enough, you might get more than one free drink.”

Alice sucked on the inside of her lip for a second before answering. “I haven’t been to a trash nightclub in a while, and certainly not a vampire themed one. I might consider it.” She gave him a wry smile, and he hopped off the table, rolling his eyes.

Eric made a mildly threatening announcement to the humans of the establishment which unnerved her slightly, but she didn’t think too much of it. It had nothing to do with her, so it didn’t need to bother her so much. She looked at the flyer he had left on the table and flipped it over to find more writing on the back.

_ Outside in 5. _

She wondered why, but waited the appropriate time - Bill had come back and gone outside with Sookie, then the other vampires left too. She caught the eye of Sam who had come back behind the bar to talk with the current on-shift bartender, and Alice looked away. She didn’t want to look too obvious when she headed outside.

Once the five minutes were up, she quietly made her way out of Merlotte’s to find Eric, Pam, and the other vampire watching as Sookie said a tearful goodbye to Bill. Even she felt a little strange at the thought of not seeing Eric for a few days.

He had heard her approaching and turned round, his hands still in his pockets and his shirt a little bit too tight - god, this really wasn’t helping her at all - and he smirked. He knew exactly what she was feeling, which caused her to… blush? Did she  _ actually  _ just blush like an embarrassed, crushing schoolgirl?

“You know what you need to do,” Eric told her, and she managed to snap out of whatever trance she was in, frowning.

“Do I?” Alice asked. “I still feel pretty clueless.”

“I’m sure you can figure it out. I know I told you your under my protection and therefore I would rather you come with me, but you can’t. It’s dangerous.”

“I’d rather stay away from danger, thank you very much. I’ll be fine,” she assured him, and he nodded before pursing his lips.

“Sookie would be a good friend for you. Keep at that,” Eric mused. “You can’t spend all your time with me.”

“I know,” she told him pointedly. “I prefer an introverted life. I won’t get into trouble, Eric. I’m not like that.” Alice folded her arms and cocked her head to the side as she took in the vampire,before a little smirk came to her face. “You didn’t let me say good night last night.”

He raised an eyebrow, and glanced over his shoulder at Sookie and Bill, who were rather passionately kissing now.

“If I had feelings, I’d have the chills right about now,” Pam remarked upon that sight.

“I wouldn’t,” Eric scoffed before turning back to Alice. “What are you trying to get at?”

“I won’t be seeing you for a few days, will I?”

“No, you won’t.”

Alice closed the gap between them, got on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Eric’s check. “Good night,  _ Eric _ .”

He appeared bemused as he watched her back towards the bar, and could only give her a curt nod as he turned and wandered away with the other vampires. Alice had a tiny smile on her face, which went away upon seeing Sookie’s state, but before she could even go to the girl, a black woman walked past her quickly and went over to the waitress. It was the bartender.

Alice left them be and headed back in to her table, slowly finishing up her food while mildly inappropriate thoughts of Eric slipped into her mind every now and then.

Soon enough, she was joined by Sookie and the bartender, who slid into her booth and stared at her rather unimpressed. Alice took a sip of her Coca Cola before acknowledging them properly, purely on the basis she knew there was going to be a lot of talking.

“What can I do for you ladies?” Alice then asked, crossing her arms and leaning them on the table.

“Alice, I’d like you to meet my friend Tara. Tara, I’d like you to meet Alice, who has apparently got a  _ thing _ going on with Eric Northman.”

“Oh  _ really? _ The very same Eric Northman who is literally taking Bill to his punishment and isn’t doing anything to help?” Tara cocked an eyebrow at Alice, who sighed deeply.

“I asked Eric for a favour,” she said. “Well - it was more of a deal - and that deal was if he could make sure Bill’s punishment wasn’t so bad, I’d help him any time he wanted.”

“That doesn’t explain why you kissed him,” Sookie replied.

“Would you like the long explanation or the short one?” Alice offered, trying incredibly hard to maintain every ounce of politeness that she could. Neither of the other women answered. “Alright. Here’s the short version: he’s tall, attractive, and honest. Why else shouldn’t I kiss him?”

“He’s a bit of an asshole!”

“No, he’s brutally honest and he doesn’t take any crap,” she pointed out. “And I  _ wish _ that I could do the same sometimes.” She smoothed out the skirt of her dress as she said that. “I’d be more worried about Eric if he played nice all the time and then suddenly turned for no reason. I’ve had it happen to me before - the nicest person you know isn’t always that, Sookie. So it’s refreshing that Eric is just… honest, and blunt, but at least I also know he’s got my back.”

Sookie frowned. “Is that what he meant when he said you were his? Last night?”

Alice was silent for a moment, thinking up of a good way to play into the lie that Eric had planted for the pair of them. The lie that was meant to protect her. “We exchanged blood,”  _ not exactly a lie, just not done in the way to be expected…  _ “but he healed the marks to keep it discreet, for my sake,”  _ definitely a lie, he had never bitten her to begin with… _ “So yes. I’m his. Only for my protection. Again, helps he’s got a lovely face to look at. The hair on the other hand… not so much.”

The waitress couldn’t help but chuckle with Alice at that, and even Tara relaxed too.

“Despite that… I did only kiss him on the cheek. So no need to worry - it was more of a courtesy than anything. He did the same for me last night,”  _ another little white lie… it was better this way _ , she thought, glad that Sookie couldn’t read her mind. “I’m know you don’t like him and you want me to be careful, but I’ll be fine. Okay?”

“Out of all the vampires you had to get pally with, it had to be Eric Northman, didn’t it?” Sookie then said.

“Well… couldn’t really help the fact I crossed paths with him first. I don’t think he’s all bad, you’ve just not seen that side of him yet.”

“And you have?” the waitress raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not saying I have, I just think there’s a good part in him somewhere.”

Nobody said anything after that, so Alice left her bill and tip on the table so that she could leave. As far as a night could go, it had certainly been better than the previous one, even if Sookie was being particularly nosey about Eric.

Nothing was going on between them, really. Kisses were kisses, and if anything more happened, Alice had already told herself she’d be fine with it. There was no guarantee though, and she was glad that it wasn’t set in stone.

Those thoughts kept going round in her head until she got home and went to sleep; not particularly bothersome, but it kept her awake a little longer than she would have liked.


	11. Faults

_ The evenings were always quiet. To a point. _

_ Alice was sat at the kitchen table going through exercise books, waiting for Michael to come home. It was just past six, which meant she should probably get started with some sort of dinner for the both of them for when he was home at seven. _

_ Her heart skipped a beat at that, and she had to take a deep breath - she was calm. It would be fine. They would have a polite conversation over food, and she could get back to her marking until bedtime. She’d give him a cuddle, and then they’d go to sleep. It would be fine, absolutely fine. She had been telling herself this every night for the past two weeks - since the last incident - and it had worked. It would work again tonight as well. _

_ Her phone buzzed with a text from him. _

**_Was given dinner at work, don’t worry about me this evening. Mike Xx_ **

_ Well, now that was a bit of the routine out of the window. It would still be fine. _

**_Okay, see you later. Alice xx_ **

_ That was her response. He didn’t text back. If he was being given food at work, that normally meant he was working a bit later than normal. That didn’t matter. She just got on with marking as normal, not finding herself particularly hungry anyway. _

_ Alice popped in her earphones and got back to it. Her mind was focused on the task at hand, and it meant she didn’t have to think about anything else except for how clever her students were, really. Every passing minute she found herself constantly more and more impressed with them. She wondered if that was a reflection of her or if they were just really good. Maybe it was a bit of both. Maybe she’d ask Michael for his opinion when he got home. _

_ She knew he was back because one of her earphones was rudely pulled out in an effort to grab her attention. Ah. That was why she didn’t put them in usually. She checked the time on her phone: eight o’clock. Only an hour late, that wasn’t as bad as she was expecting. She pulled out the other earphone. _

_ Oh, and then her phone was swiped off of her. She sighed, but didn’t say anything except give him a wry smile. That also happened every night when he joined her at the table. He pocketed the phone. _

_ “How was your day?” she then asked, putting down her pen. _

_ Michael shrugged, and combed his fingers through his dark hair. “It was alright. Numbers upon numbers, but then what else do you expect when you’re an accountant?” He then narrowed his eyes at her. “Why are you asking? You never ask. What’s wrong?” _

_ “Nothing’s wrong - I just thought I would ask.” _

_ “You never want to have a conversation with me,” his tone was becoming more accusing, and Alice could feel herself retreating inwards more and more. She wanted to pick up the pen and carry on with the marking, but couldn’t bring herself to. “What’s happened?” _

_ “Maybe I was curious because you were at work late,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry - I didn’t mean to make you think anything was wrong…” _

_ He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m being paranoid again. How was your day?” _

_ “Long. Mostly year seven, eights, and sixth formers today… although I have to say,” a little smile came to her face, “I think the year sevens are getting a  _ **_lot_ ** _ better with their essays! Not as terrible to trudge through… Do you think that’s down to me being a good teacher or them wanting to work hard?” _

_ He shrugged again. “You’re not my teacher. I wouldn’t know.” _

_ Alice didn’t say anything, and appearing rather deflated, got back to it. _

_ “You weren’t fishing for a compliment, were you?” he scoffed. “Not very becoming of you.” _

_ “No. I thought you might give me a better answer than that though. I’ll see you when I come to bed, Michael…” _

Alice stirred awake after that, tears filling her eyes. She sat up and sniffed, wondering how she had never been able to tell that that was when it all  _ really _ started to go downhill from there. She had no idea what she’d done to make him stop being nice to her, but… it had happened all the same.

She hadn’t dreamt or thought about that conversation since moving to Shreveport - perhaps the fact that since Eric had been gone for a few days and she was throwing herself into tutoring properly was bringing it back to the surface again. She hadn’t even tried to practice her new little gift either - Alice had wanted to feel some semblance of normal for a little bit.

It was just a shame that she was starting to dream of less than savoury memories again. She really didn’t want that to be what feeling normal felt like - it was unfair.

Alice grabbed her phone to find it was about two in the morning - that meant it was seven o’clock in England. Should she risk it?

She turned on her lamp and opened up facetime so she could called Daisy, wiping her tears away as she did so.

Surprisingly, her older sister picked up pretty quickly.

_ “Alice! Finally! Isn’t it really late there? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” _ Of course the questions were rattled off ridiculously quickly, along with a lot of background noise from her twin children. Daisy looked like she could be Alice’s twin - except she was about five years older.

“Yeah, I should be asleep, but… well, I was. I woke up.”

_ “Bad dream?” _ Daisy offered, before looking off camera.  _ “Tom! It’s Alice!” _

She turned back to the camera and grinned, just as a blonde man came into view - her husband.

_ “Alice! Nice to know you’re actually alive.” _

_ “Tom, stop it!” _

_ “What? It was a legitimate concern… anyway. Good to see you’re alright. I need to go and get the kids ready…” _

He wandered off, and Alice couldn’t help but smile.

“Busy morning?”

_ “Well, we need to drop them off at pre-school before heading to work. You remember how it was. Anyway, what’s up?” _

“I… I had a dream about the evening it started to get really bad. When I tried to have a conversation with Mike and he… he really didn’t like it. Then a month later he kept repeatedly having a go at me for not wanting to talk to him…” She hugged her knees, realising how awful it made her to say out loud.

_ “Oh, darling, I’m sorry. What made you want to call me though?” _

“I miss you. And you’re the only one besides mum who knows about it all…”

_ “I miss you too. We all do. How’s Shreveport though?” _

“It’s alright. I made a friend, I think.”

_ “Ooohh, do tell.” _ Daisy went to go curl up in an armchair, and she had a cup of tea with her. Alice smiled - her big sister was always ready to hear a good story.

“You won’t judge me for what I’m about to say, will you?”

_ “Never.” _

“Well, I think I made friends with a vampire and he knows something’s not right with me. He told me I’m ‘under his protection’ - so I guess that’s not a bad thing?”

Daisy considered that notion for a moment.

_ “No. If he’s a friend, then you’re good. If he knows something’s up and wants to look out for you but isn’t making you tell him - even better. How did you meet him?” _

“He got the wrong address and then invited me to his bar.” Alice shrugged. “Everyone thinks he’s a bit of an arse, but… I don’t know. He’s just  _ honest _ . Brutally so, which is completely fine with me. He’s not horrible to me, but he can get  _ very _ tetchy with anyone and everyone.”

_ “Hmm. Well, at least he’s straight about it. Don’t get into any trouble, okay? You promised yourself a quiet life for a bit.” _

Alice had to hold back a laugh that would have turned into a very obviously fake cough had she not restrained herself so hard. “Don’t worry. I’ll be alright. I feel better enough for being over here, actually. Just… sometimes things slip into my mind and I keep thinking about what I did wrong and-”

_ “Stop it. You did nothing wrong. Listen, I’ve got to go - Tom’s giving me a really pained look. Love you. I’ll try and call back soon! Get some sleep.” _

“Give the twins a big kiss from me. Love you too, Daisy. Night.”

Alice hung up after that, feeling somewhat relieved to get some of her troubles off her chest. Not to mention it actually felt good to talk to family - she’d been absolutely awful at trying to keep in contact since moving here…

She lay back down in bed. It was hard not being able to tell Daisy that she was… gifted in some weird way. Alice had no idea what to refer to it as - gift sounded odd. Power? No, that seemed too egotistical for her liking. Thing? She could refer to it as  _ her thing. _ Not exactly eloquent, but it was casual enough and it might make people who found out about it ask less questions. She could be as vague as she liked with it.

Alice wondered if she would ever tell her family about it, but that would be a rather bizarre conversation to have.  _ Oh hi mum, did you know that I can see the future when I touch a person’s hand or think about them a bit too much? Yeah, I know, weird right… _

She shuddered at the thought of that conversation, and was ready to settle down to sleep again when-

_ Tap tap tap. _

Alice frowned, going over to her window. She pulled back the curtains and opened the window to find, of course, Eric.

“Three days wasn’t very long at all,” she remarked, perching on the windowsill. “I thought you’d be gone longer.”

“Are you disappointed?” he raised an eyebrow at her, deciding to sit on the window pane itself.

“Yes and no. Yes, because I wanted to be normal for a bit longer. No, because your nightly visits are always welcome.”

“From that, I take it you’ve not been trying to hone your ability in?”

“No, I haven’t. Sorry. What happened with Bill?”

Eric was silent for a moment before telling her. “He had to make a vampire.”

Alice was rather taken aback. “That’s… something.”

“An eye for an eye,” Eric mused. “It should be entertaining to watch him struggle.”

She frowned. “Do you not like Bill?”

“Not particularly. He’s overly tragic about his entire existence, and quite frankly,  _ boring. _ He’s also not to be trusted, so we both shot ourselves in the foot by revealing what you could do. However, I  _ am _ his sheriff, so he shouldn’t disobey me.”

“Shouldn’t?” Alice raised an eyebrow.

“Bill Compton likes me about as much as I like him. You’ll be fine. Trust me.”

She eyed him sceptically, but nodded all the same.

“Am I allowed in tonight?”

Alice shook her head. “Sorry. I… I had a bad dream about something that happened back in England.”

“Surely you’d want company for a while, then?”

“No - it was - it was to do with my old relationship so… I’d rather not.” She was getting more stressed by the second thinking about it again; Eric looked like he was about to say something else or reach to put his hand on her shoulder, but clearly thought better of it.

“Then I bid you good night,” he eventually said.

“Yeah. I’ll be alright tomorrow night, hopefully. So… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” She looked apologetic, like a puppy who had gotten into trouble. It made Eric sigh.

“Stop that. It makes me feel… disturbingly human. I’m not sure how much I like that feeling - for the most part I really don’t. Whatever it was that happened, it wasn’t your fault.”

“People keep telling me that…” she murmured.

“And how long until you believe it?”

That had her stumped.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Eric didn’t give her a chance to say anything else before shooting off into the night. Almost sadly, Alice shut her window and closed the curtains before getting back into bed. She lay awake for some time, mulling over what both Daisy and Eric had said to her that night.

As stubborn as she could be, Alice knew they were right, and it frustrated her to no end that that was the case. She took a deep breath so that she ended up not getting overwhelmed by it all.

Tomorrow was a new day. She’s already received a text earlier that evening that one of the girls she taught was unwell, so that freed up her afternoon - it meant she could attempt to relax before seeing Eric again.

She wondered when she should tell him what had happened - would there ever be a good time for it? Probably not. There never would be. But he had to know eventually, otherwise they’d be stepping on eggshells around each other for longer than was necessary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This'll be the last update until the New Year! Happy reading gang :)


	12. Killer

The morning was difficult, to say the least, and Alice was glad for the afternoon off.

She hadn’t even been thinking about what she had seen when she held Bill’s hand, but it was still pushing its way to the forefront of her mind. It proved to be more distracting than the time she was thinking about Eric while tutoring; it was more a teeth gritting kind of distraction that was far more obvious to people within spitting distance of her.

Alice ended up passing it off as a terrible headache - it must be the heat of Louisiana - and her student’s parents commended her for being so dedicated and not taking the day off to rest. She smiled wryly through her gritted teeth at the end of the session and drove incredibly slowly back home.

She flopped down on the sofa upon getting in, breathing deeply and trying to suppress everything back so she didn’t end up incredibly overwhelmed, as was her usual reaction to literally everything. It worked for a short while, but then she made the mistake of letting her guard down.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as the images took over.

_ Bill could sense Sookie was in danger. _

_ It did not matter there was still a good couple of hours until sunset. _

_ He woke from his daytime slumber and began to make his way out into the sun. _

_ Slowly, his skin tightened and dried up. _

_ His blood began to bubble. _

_ He was moving more sluggishly with every passing step towards the graveyard as he burned… _

Alice woke up with a gasp, sweating profusely. She looked at the clock on her mantelpiece. It was about three o’clock, and she knew she couldn’t let Bill walk to his death in a few hours - that wasn’t fair on Sookie.

She sat up, trying to collect herself. Whatever Sookie was in danger from… she needed to stay away from it, otherwise she was going to end up being in deep trouble with Eric. Possibly. Alice had no idea how he would react to her trying to help Sookie - he was the type to get pissed off easily, but he’d been very blatantly treading carefully around her. He’d be unimpressed, that was for sure.

She didn’t want to go running off into trouble, but she didn’t want the love of Sookie’s life to die. For a good fifteen minutes Alice battled with herself internally about whether or not she should head to Bon Temps, find out where both the waitress and vampire resided, and go straight to them both.

Even driving there she was still conflicted. She could just stay at home, maybe have a nap or finish the book she was reading but no. She was driving as close to the speed limit as possible down the highway towards Bon Temps so that she could help out someone who could potentially be her friend. To be fair, it was Eric’s fault she considered Sookie a little more than an acquaintance - he was the one who had said to work at a friendship with the woman.

It took a good half an hour to forty minutes before she even entered the small town, but she slowed down as she headed in the direction of Merlotte’s. Sam would know where Sookie would be - or better yet, the woman might still be on shift at work.

Alice screeched to a halt in the car park of the grill, and practically ran inside, crashing into Sam himself who was on his way out. They both fell to the ground, Sam dropping an orange high-vis vest in the process.

“Jesus Christ - what are y’all in a rush for?!” he asked her as he helped her up.

“I could ask the same of you!” Alice dusted herself off. “Where’s Sookie?”

“She went home about half an hour ago - and I think she’s with the killer!”

“Oh brilliant, just what I needed…” she murmured, a little frustrated. “And Bill? What about him?”

“He’ll be at his place sleepin’... why?” Sam was already trying to get going to find Sookie on foot, but Alice was power walking after him as they spoke, preventing him from running off entirely.

“I - I have a feeling he’s going to do something stupid?” Alice offered, not wanting to give away what she knew was going to happen. That stopped Sam in his tracks, and he turned to her.

“You came all the way from Shreveport just because you had a  _ feeling? _ ”

“...Yes.”

“He lives near Sook, wanna drive?”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

They were both running towards her car, and Sam tossed the high-vis vest into the back seat of it.

“Step on it,” Sam told her as they belted up. Alice put the car in gear and sped off from the establishment as fast as she possibly could - and would happily go. “I’ll direct ya.”

It didn’t take very long to get to Sookie’s - it took about ten minutes with Sam’s direction and Alice’s surprisingly quick reactions to when she needed to actually turn down a different road without making the car go off balance at the speed she was going at. They zoomed down the driveway to find Sookie’s yellow car parked out front of the house, where the doors were thrown wide open.

The pair hopped out of the car, and Sam ran towards the porch, hoping to find something.

“Where’s Bill’s place?!” Alice yelled after him.

“Across the graveyard! Go, I’ll find Sookie!”

The adrenaline pumping through Alice as she ran where Sam had vaguely pointed to was rather ridiculous; in fact it was far worse than when she had to deal with Longshadow. So much for a quiet life, she needed to stop letting her morals get in the way of what was best for her. She ran through the trees instead of the actual graveyard itself, as she could see Sam running that way too.

Keeping to the treeline was a good idea, as Sookie was in the midst of a fight with someone - the killer. Alice ignored it and carried on until she found the only other house in the area. It was big and white, as well as old and looking a little worse for wear, and the worst part? The front door was flung wide open.

Alice halted some distance away from Bill’s porch, finally attempting to catch her breath. Adrenaline was definitely something else - and she hated it. She’d rather have been anxiously running, not running for some crazy yet selfless purpose, because now it was all going to set back in that she was in a mildly dangerous situation and it was lucky that the killer hadn’t spotted her.

_ Oh god, Sookie… Bill! _

She headed back towards the graveyard, in the hopes she might find Bill on his way there - or find him in some shady spot. As long as she didn’t find him dead, that would be good.

And find him she did. Quite literally on fire, at the edge of the graveyard. She didn’t want to sacrifice it, but as he fell to the ground she pulled off her cardigan - how she was still wearing it in this heat, she didn’t know - and chucked it over his body. She watched the tussle between Sookie, the killer, and… a dog.

_ Where was Sam?! _

Alice got her answer to that pretty quickly.

The killer kicked the dog unconscious and it turned back into Sam right before her very eyes. She blinked, not sure how to react to that, but now she had to do something - she couldn’t leave Sookie on her own. She spied a bit of fallen tree branch that looked hefty enough, and picked it up, carefully making her approach to the grave they were fighting by.

Sookie was knocked to the ground, whacking her head against a gravestone in the process. Alice used that moment to charge at the killer and hit him in the head with the thick branch, causing him to fall to the ground next to an empty grave. She dropped it, panting.

The waitress was jolted back to consciousness and she jumped up, surprised to see Alice there.

“Should we call the police?” the English woman offered a little shakily. At that moment, the killer used that opportunity to grab her ankle. She cried out, and a rather beaten up Sookie panicked, grabbing the first object she could find - a shovel - and went to whack him in the head.

Instead, she accidentally decapitated him, meaning he let go of Alice. The redhead avoided looking at the now dead body, knowing that if she did look she was going to have an anxiety attack or faint right there and then.

“That uh… that might be an idea.”

The two women looked at each other, and hugged each other in relief. At that particular moment, Sam stirred and got up, to which they both averted their eyes to his nudity. Before he could say anything, however, Alice gasped and ran back towards Bill. The other two followed her.

The cardigan had helped to slow down his burning, so Sam was able to pick up his body and place it in the empty grave. He retrieved the cardigan for Alice before they started to cover him up with dirt, Sookie crying her eyes out the entire time.

They headed back up to the house, where Sam called the police and made sure Sookie got to a hospital because she was looking absolutely awful. After answering too many questions, Alice retreated inside and began cleaning her cardigan of any burn marks that might be on it. She was surprised it didn’t outright set on fire - there were a couple of singes, but that wasn’t too much of a big deal. It was still in one piece, and that was all that mattered to her.

Tara was called in, with her cousin Lafayette, and they along with Alice spent the afternoon together tidying up the house and making it a little more presentable and comfortable for when Sookie got back.

At one point, they spent time chatting at the kitchen table trying to wind down and catch up on the small town culture. It mostly consisted of Tara and Lafayette filling in Alice on every detail, a she was safely tucked away in Shreveport.

“I wouldn’t say she was  _ safely _ tucked away…” Tara said, her eyebrows shooting up. Lafayette looked at the English woman curiously.

“Honey, what has you gotten into? You look too  _ sweet _ to be doin’ anything nasty!”

“Remember the other night at Merlotte’s when that blonde vampire came in? Yeah… I’m… sort of friends with him.”

Lafayette looked at her like she was insane for a moment, before shrugging it off. “Well as long as yous ain’t fuckin’ him, it’s  _ all _ good.”

“Yeah…” Alice nodded, taking a sip of the juice that had been sitting in front of her for some time. “I don’t think that’ll ever happen anyway. Also - why is  _ everyone  _ so obsessed with my business with Eric?”

“Listen, Sookie’s started getting into all kinds of trouble because of Bill,” Tara began explaining, “and - I know we ain’t friends or anythin’ - it’s fair for some us to not want someone else to get mixed up it in all.”

For some reason, a pang went through Alice’s heart at that. These people were strangers to her, yet they were trying to look out for her which was perhaps one of the nicest things someone could do. Perhaps that what small town culture was ultimately like.

“I’ll be fine,” she ended up saying. “Really. Worry about Sookie, not me. I said this the other night Tara - Eric has my back. I know we don’t know each other, but trust me on this.”

The cousins glanced at each other, not quite believing it for a second, but ultimately they nodded in unison.

The topic of Eric was dropped after that, and they continued happily chatting and getting to know each other a little better; only Alice was doing her best not to get too friendly too quickly, and give too much away about herself. Oddly enough, they didn’t press her for anything she didn’t want to talk about - there was some semblance of privacy, and that she was grateful for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update? Early update. Have a happy new year!


	13. Drinks

Eventually, Sam brought Sookie home - she was absolutely high as a kite off of the pain medication she’d be given. Alice left her be with her closer friends, opting to sit on the porch in the cool evening, finally putting her cardigan back on. She was quite happy sitting on her own, until Sam joined her on the step.

“I never see ya without that,” he said.

“It makes me feel safe…” Alice muttered in response. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I saw another dead body.”

“You okay?”

“I’m sure I will be. It wasn’t as horrible as the last one I saw,” she gave Sam a half smile. “Vampires turn to mush when they die. It was mildly traumatising to witness.”

Sam didn’t quite know what to say to that, and merely patted Alice’s hand, which she moved quickly from underneath his. He noticed her discomfort and frowned.

“So what’s your deal?” he then asked. Alice raised an eyebrow.

“And what’s yours?” She quipped back, referring to the fact she had literally seen a dog transform back into him.

He chuckled lightly. “Ahh, cher, would ya believe me if I told you?”

Alice nodded.

“I can shapeshift into other animals,” he told her quietly.

“Yeah. I figured as much when I saw a  _ dog _ turn back into  _ you. _ ”

“And you?”

“I don’t want to say…”

“Come on, I just told you my thing,” he pressed, and she shook her head.

“The only reason you said anything is because I saw you. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have said a word,” Alice pointed out, getting a little tetchy. “I can’t say what my deal is, because it’s probably far more dangerous than you telling me that you’re a shapeshifter.”

He was quiet for a moment, and really  _ looked _ at Alice. She almost seemed upset, but he realised it was more that she wasn’t used to talking to anyone about this sort of thing.

“Do you want some tea? I’m sure Sook wouldn’t mind if I fixed you something.”

“When you say tea, you mean iced sweet tea don’t you?” Alice asked, and he nodded. “Yeah I’ll pass, thanks.” She stood up. “I prefer English breakfast tea myself, and I should get back home anyway before-”

“Before I show up and realise you did something stupid?” a deep voice to their left said. The two of them turned to see Eric strolling their way. He stopped a short distance away and leaned against the porch fence, his arms folded and an eyebrow raised.

Sam immediately stood up. “Listen here, fanger, she didn’t do anything stupid-“

Alice grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to sit back down.

“Sam, it’s fine,” Alice assured him, a cheeky smile then coming to her face. “Watch this,” she whispered as she wandered over to Eric. Her mischievous smile turned to something more genuine as she stared up at him and clasped her hands behind her back.

“What do you want?” He was suspicious, but intrigued all the same.

“Could I get a kiss hello?” Alice cocked her head to the side in a cute, almost pleading way. Eric pursed his lips, glancing over at Sam - who hadn’t heard what Alice just said. Knowing that the redhead before him was trying to embarrass him (not that it would work), he obliged.

Cupping the back of her neck, Eric hunched over and kissed Alice. As he moved his lips against hers, he decided to nip lightly at her bottom lip, making her squeal a little and jump back away from him. She giggled and glanced over at her friend.

The look on his face was priceless, but there was some obvious anger bubbling under the surface. He came over.

“Now I’m wondering if you’ve done something stupid,” Sam then said, not exactly impressed.

“First of all she hasn’t done anything, and secondly I do not fall into the category of stupid,” Eric said, grinning. Alice’s cheeks went a delicate shade of pink as she understood what he was getting at, and Sam sighed.

“Don’t be getting her into trouble.”

“Please, she’s under my protection and getting into trouble would be counterproductive to the both of us,” Eric rolled his eyes, turning to Alice. “Come on, we have to go.”

“Do we?” she frowned, and Eric rolled his eyes before grabbing her keys from her pocket, and heading over to the car.

“I’ll be fine. Eric’s good at keeping his word, which is more than what my previous boyfriend ever did for me in the end,” she said to a worried Sam, and then realised her wording. “Not that Eric is my boyfriend, but he’s very loyal if he likes you. Not sure why he likes me, but I’ll take it. See you soon… and  _ please _ don’t tell anyone in there what just happened.”

With that, Alice scurried to her car and got into the passenger seat, leaving a very bemused Sam to stare after the pair. She barely had her seatbelt on when Eric sped off down Sookie’s driveway.

“What was that all about?”

“Trying to prove a point,” she responded. “People have opinions I disagree with for the most part.”

“The most part?” Eric was amused.

“I think people mistake your blunt honesty for being an arsehole, and just the way you act in general. You have nothing to hide and you know you don’t owe anyone anything. You’re not all bad, otherwise I wouldn’t want you anywhere near me,” Alice the explained.

“I’ll take that, it’s not far off,” he agreed. “But back to my point earlier - you could have gotten yourself hurt. Leave Miss Stackhouse to Bill Compton, don’t endanger yourself for her. She’s not worth it.”

“She’s my friend, Eric.” Alice got a little tetchy, and he rolled his eyes. “You might not care for her but I do. Besides, I… I had a vision about Bill burning. I went to go help him and got caught up in all of that.”

“Fine. Just don’t do anything like that again if you can help it.”

“I can’t tell if you’re concerned or possessive.”

“I dislike the word concerned but it’s appropriate for the situation.”

His tone suggested that was the end of that conversation. Silence was a usual companion with the two of them, due to Eric not being much of a talker and Alice being a dangerous mix of introverted and anxious. It was a good pairing - it meant conversation wasn’t absolute necessary unless it was important.

“Do you… fancy going for a drink?” Eric asked carefully as they eventually turned off for Shreveport.

“Where?” Alice eyed him suspiciously.

“Not Fangtasia. I’m buying.”

“Alright. What’s the occasion?”

He glanced at her. “Looks like you could use one. And, admittedly, I’m quite impressed.”

“Why?” Alice snorted.

“You’re not crying about a dead body.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not unnerved - it just wasn’t horrifically messy,  _ and _ I was able to avoid looking at it.”

He nodded and soon enough they were at some quiet, fancy looking place in the depths of Shreveport. The area around it was pretty much deserted save for a few Mercedes in the car park outside the mysterious establishment.

After they both got out the car, Eric zipped round to Alice’s side and offered her the crook of his arm, which she cautiously took. They walked towards the building and down a set of stairs, where they were greeted with a neon sign and a security guard at the door, who let them through without even asking for ID.

Eric winked at Alice, and they made their way into the posh bar, all black leather seats and gold embellishments. The human wasn’t sure if she’d seen anything like it, and the place was pretty empty too. Elegant music played in the background.

The vampire led her to a high table where they sat on stools. She couldn’t help but notice that when one of the bartenders spotted Eric, rushed over to them.

“Get the nice lady something as orange as her hair,” Eric told him. The bartender went away without a single word uttered.

“Come on, there’s got to be another reason you took me here,” Alice prodded at him. “Is this our equivalent of a date?”

Eric looked disgusted at the very idea. “Please, sweetie, this is just me being nice. Do  _ not _ get any ideas. Besides, I don’t know much about you.”

Her drink was brought over and placed on the table atop a napkin. Alice muttered her thanks, and took a sip.

“You do realise this is a Sex on the Beach, right? The most  _ default _ orange coloured cocktail you could get?” She laughed. “But don’t worry. It’s probably the nicest one I’ve had. What do you want to know? I won’t answer much, though. I don’t know if I can properly trust you yet.”

“That’s fair. Okay… so… why did you move to Shreveport of all the places?”

She was silent before deciding on how to answer him - if anything, he probably did deserve to know a little more about her, all things considered. He was being nice to her right now, after all.

“Honestly, it was the result of a game. I was trying to figure out where to move and it had to be as random as possible. Pulled a continent out of a hat, followed by the country and a state. Then I got a map and shoved in a pin in it with my eyes shut,” Alice eventually said. “And here I am.”

“Here you are, sitting with a vampire, finally opening up to someone - to an extent,” he pointed out. Her face fell.

“Don’t,” she said. “Don’t… push it. You’re lucky I didn’t ask you to drive me home and actually entertained your offer.”

He was silent for a minute or two, calculating the best next question.

“You must have been planning this a while - the move, that is.”

She nodded. “With help from one of my sisters.”

He was intrigued. “Oh, there’s more of you?”

“I’m the baby in the family - an older brother and two older sisters. All of them in nice perfect family units of some kind…” she practically spat that sentence in a tone that was akin to spite and-

“Is that jealousy?”

She was then promptly ashamed of the way she spoke. “I’m usually not unless it’s brought up. All I feel normally is… anxious, and scared. They’re what got me here, and they’re all I know. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to feel everything else properly and then it comes to the surface. I don’t like it when it does. It means I’ve let my guard down. It’s why you’re stone cold, isn’t it? You don’t want to let anyone in because it’s easier that way, but here we are, at a bar, with both our guards let down.”

Eric didn’t say anything, and merely chewed over Alice’s words as she carried on drinking down the cocktail - worry was etched across her face, as she realised she had spilled more to him that necessary. He couldn’t dispute what she had said, but he didn’t want to let her know that she was right about him. Instead he focused on the beginning part of her little speech - the part about herself.

Something had always seemed odd about Alice, the way she obsessively wanted to keep to herself, was permanently anxious, and didn’t want to let anyone in.

“Whoever hurt you to the point where it was easier for you to live in constant fear - if I  _ ever _ find out who they are, they’re  _ dead meat _ ,” he told her fiercely. “You were right about loyalty earlier - I like you. You’re under my protection too, and it’s not because I proclaimed it recently, but because I made a promise to someone a long time ago.”

“What was the promise?”

“If we ever crossed paths that I would do what I can to help you, and to always protect you.”

“So whoever it was knew that I would be… different?”

“Yes.”

“Who was it? Who knew? Who made you promise?” There were tears in her eyes - not out of anger, but because deep down she  _ knew _ . Somehow she knew who asked Eric to make sure she was protected.

“Two people. My maker, and… your grandmother.”

Alice was gnawing on the inside of her lip silently as she forced back tears. She didn’t know what to say to that. Her hands were beginning to shake - as she usually did in a situation like this, she got off her seat and made a beeline for the exit.

The moment her face wasn’t in view of Eric’s, she allowed herself to cry - why hadn’t he told her? From the minute they met, why didn’t he think it was a good idea to tell her about how he was involved in the first place? Was he only doing it because of that promise? Or did he also actually not mind her as a person? Was this all done out of begrudging respect for others?

She was nearly at the car when Eric called out for her.

“Where are you going?”

“Home. For the love of god - just let me go home.”

“Without these?” He held up her car keys, and she sighed, heading back towards him with her hand outstretched.

“Give them to me.”

“Only if you let me explain.”

She lowered her hand.

“Yeah. That might be better. Eric, why didn’t you tell me?”

“You weren’t ready to know.”

“Bull _ shit! _ ” she exclaimed, before covering her mouth with a hand - shocked that she had even sworn at him. Eric wasn’t phased by it, and waited for her to carry on talking because he knew she had something else to say. This time, she clenched her fists at her sides. “You should have told me sooner! If it was to do with my history, I had a right to know!”

“I’m  _ not _ disputing that, but you were by no means ready to get more overwhelmed than you already were!” Eric was beginning to raise his voice now, getting frustrated with her stubbornness about the whole thing. “I get that you’re scared and anxious and all of that bad shit you just told me, but for  _ fuck’s sake _ \- I barely know what I’m doing with this either!”

“So why did you make that promise then?” she countered.

“I - I don’t know.” He calmed a little, and started to approach her. “At the time my maker probably wanted to teach me a lesson about humanity when he made me agree to it. Same with Rosalind.”

“And have you? Have you learnt anything?”

The look on his face was strained - he’d much rather go back to shouting. “I don’t know yet. Maybe a bit.”

Alice nodded, before her face crumpled and she started to properly cry. “You should - you should have told me… Eric… are you only helping me because of that, or do you genuinely want to?”

“I… It started out as obligation but now I want to.”

“Why?”

“You’re different from the other breathers,” he murmured, finally closing the gap between them and placing his hands on her shoulders. Alice sniffed and turned her face away from him.

“How?”

“Well, the most obvious thing is the gift you have. You don’t overshare either. And… despite knowing me for a short amount of time, you have a basic understanding of how I work - most people don’t.” He brought his hand to her chin and gently moved her head so she would look at him. “You’re right, I should have told you sooner, but it was better this way.”

She nodded as she stared up at him, now wiping away her tears. “What was she like? My grandmother?”

“Rosalind was similar to you, but very different. Different enough that my maker - who is admittedly fiercer than I - fell in love with her. She annoyed me a lot.”

“Do I annoy you?”

He cocked his head to the side, considering her question as it was one he had never been expecting. “Surprisingly, no.”

“Can I trust you?”

“Yes, I think you can. Are you only trusting me because you want to or because you have to?” He threw a question similar in style to the one she had asked him back in her face, and it was clear that she hadn’t been expecting.

“Both,” she told him firmly. “Both, because I’m not an idiot to only go one way with that one.”

A half smile came to his face - she was definitely more clever than she let on. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

That abrupt change in topic startled Alice, but she followed him to her car and got in the passenger seat once more. There was the comfortable silence between them in the car as he drove her home, and they were both grateful for it.

When Eric pulled into the driveway, he switched off the engine and handed back the set of keys to Alice. They sat there for a few minutes longer, before wordlessly getting out of the car and heading to the front door.

She turned to him before going inside.

“Thanks for the drink… you were right - I did kind of need it.”

“It was no trouble. I’ll see you tomorrow night?”

“Yes. Um…” Alice stepped closer to Eric. After a moment of consideration she got on her tiptoes, cupped his cheek and pressed her lips to his. She could have melted into him right there and then, always appreciative of how cold he felt to her - he didn’t help with her sense of restraint, holding onto her upper arms while kissing her. She felt something stir in her belly; it felt familiar, but also entirely alien. It made her press herself entirely against him.

All of a sudden, before it could get any further than that, Alice pulled away from him and blushed. He raised his left eyebrow in that annoying way he always did, smirking too.

“The words you’re looking for are good night.” Eric backed off her porch with a sweeping bow, before flying off into the night.

Alice’s cheeks were positively burning now, and she was almost unable to walk straight back into her own house.  _ God, _ he was too much sometimes, wasn’t he? It was safe to say that for the first time in a while, Alice went to sleep with genuinely nice, calming thoughts thoughts flying around her brain despite some of their discussions that night.


	14. Monthly

The next day and evening wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Alice had spent the entire day battling with uncharacteristically painful stomach cramps, and for that she went through her monthly routine of cursing herself for having a uterus. Getting through the work day itself involved her taking painkillers every two hours and an extremely forced smile.

She was thankful to get home and change out of her usual dress and into a sports bra and some leggings. Of course, the cardigan remained an integral part of comfort in that outfit. She switched on the television in the living room, watching whatever rubbish was on, and sat upside down on the sofa.

Alice huffed, unimpressed with how this was going. Another thought that struck her was that Eric would be dropping by later… that was going to be entertaining. Maybe she should just avoid him for the next few days if she could help it. She grunted when another small wave of pain coursed through her lower back. It was more irritating that anything.

The moment she reached for her phone to text Eric about her current predicament, but there was a knock at the door. Yep, the sun had gone down. Brilliant.

She sighed, and somehow found it in her to flip off the sofa into a standing position. Now that she amused herself with - it had been a while since she’d done that, but doing it at this current point in time? A mistake. With an arm around her middle pressing down on her tummy, she wandered to the front door and opened it a crack.

“Bad time?” Eric asked, noticing her mildly pissed off look. She opened the door wider. “Are you hurt?”

“You can’t fix what’s hurting me, Eric…” she rolled her eyes.

“Someone’s in a mood today…” he then looked her up and down. “And… surprisingly attractive looking like that. Those leggings fit you  _ very well. _ ”

Alice allowed him to enter, and he sauntered through to the armchair in the living room. She joined him, resuming her original position of sitting upside down on the sofa.

“If you want me to do some semblance of trying to gain control tonight, it’s not happening. I am… about half an hour away from taking another painkiller and getting a hot water bottle.” She glanced at him. “Be thankful you were a born a man.”

“Hmmph. That explains the smell,” he commented wryly, crossing one leg over the other. “Then what do you propose?”

“Tell me the story about when you met my grandmother.”

Eric licked his bottom lip, before nodding.

* * *

**_London 1949_ **

_ Eric had never been keen on the smell of London - much like New York City, the people were rude and it smelt like pee. But… post-war London was something to be considered a little more interesting. Plenty of lonely women about that he could fuck and feed from. Plenty of people in general to feed from. _

_ He and Godric had made their way back here from Germany, having lost track of the werewolves they had been hunting down. For once they decided to look for some down time, a reprieve from whatever they usually got up to, and England had been the perfect spot for that. _

_ He wandered up Regent Street towards the Langham Hotel, where he and Godric were currently residing. It was about midnight, and he had had his fun for the night down in Soho. Eric had entertained himself for the evening by preying on the predatory men that seeked to harm women. Godric had been with him at the start of the night, but had disappeared at some point. Eric knew they would meet back at the hotel and go down for the day. _

_ So it surprised him to find his maker with a woman, having a rather lovely time in the hotel room. She was quite a sight - wavy strawberry-blonde hair, a petite frame, and the most delightful scent. So delightful that Eric had to hold back his fangs upon seeing her when he entered the room. _

_ “Oh!” She appeared surprised by his appearance. “Is this your friend Eric?” _

_ Godric smiled and stood up, beckoning Eric over to the lush red sofa so that they could be properly introduced. He remained rooted to the spot by the now shut door. “Eric, this is Rosalind. She was visiting family here, but… she decided to spend some time with me tonight.” _

_ “Is that where you got to at the Green Man?” he questioned. _

_ Their middle class English accents were… not as practised as they could have been. Except they got by with them. If they slipped up, they would simply slip into a Cockney accent and proclaim they just wanted to be more accepted. _

_ “Yes. Sorry for not telling you.” _

_ Eric rolled his eyes and went to sit at the little table, kicking his shoes off and putting his feet up on one of the other chairs. _

_ “Come, Rosalind, perhaps we can entertain Eric with a game of cards,” Godric said to his companion. He held out his hand as a gentlemanly gesture to help her stand up, and she gladly took it as she rose from the sofa. _

_ Then something happened. _

_ A strange energy coursed through the room, causing both Eric and Godric to drop fang. Blood trailed down Rosalind’s nose as she collapsed right there on the spot. _

_ Within an instant, Godric had moved her to lie on the bed. Carefully he lapped up the blood on her face, doing his absolute best not to move to her neck and bite. Eric came over, curious. He retracted his fangs when the blood had been cleared up. _

_ “What was that?” he dropped the accent for the time being. Godric was staring down at the woman in absolute fascination. _

_ “Eric… there has only been one other time in my life that I have met a woman like her…” the older vampire gently stroked Rosalind’s hair, and looked up at Eric. “She has the ability to see the future.” _

_ “You told me about this… what was the other one’s name?” _

_ “I believe her name was Aethelys. It was a very long time ago now, before you were even born as a human - she was aggressive and wanted nothing to do with me when I found out but… perhaps we can help Rosalind.” _

_ Eric groaned. “I do not care for something like this. You can help your newly acquired plaything, but I will have nothing to do with it.” _

_ “Who said I’m anyone’s plaything?” The woman in question sat up, rubbing her forehead. “And what happened to your voices?” _

_ The two vampires looked at each other. Yeah, there was no way they’d be able to lie about this one. _

_ “Would you believe us if we told you?” Godric offered. _

_ “Considering what just happened? I saw… things that were to do with me, and… you? How is that even possible?” _

_ “Anything is possible. Rosalind… we’re creatures of the night. My real name is Godric. We - we are vampires. But we are  _ **_not_ ** _ going to harm you.” _

_ “Speak for yourself, Godric…” Eric sighed, getting up from the bed. “I’m booking myself another room.” _

_ The older vampire frowned. “There are two beds in here.” _

_ “This is  _ **_your_ ** _ problem. I’m not dealing with some kind of seer - or whatever the fuck her kind actually is called, if there’s more than one of her to exist.” _

_ Rosalind jumped when Eric swore so openly, and it only made him roll his eyes. “Well excuse me. Maybe staying in another room would be good - I’d rather not wake up to you drinking my blood.” _

_ Eric scoffed, sauntering to the door. If anything, he was also mildly impressed with the fact she wasn’t running screaming - Godric appeared to be of the same mindset as he continued to stare at her in awe. “As sweet as you smell, dear Rosalind, I don’t think I’d go anywhere near tasting you.” _

_ “I apologise for him. He was never too open minded…” _

_ Those were the last words of that conversation Eric heard before he left to go get his own room. _

* * *

“You… really didn’t take to her…” Alice commented, frowning from her spot on the sofa. “You took to me more than that.”

“To be fair, she did end up growing on me. I was shocked she didn’t scream for the hills when Godric and I crudely revealed what we were. Turns out she grew up on Grimm’s Fairy Tales - nothing could really scare her.”

“That sounds about right… apparently when I was little she used to read them to me. I don’t remember it, this is just what my mum told me. I didn’t see her much in the lead up to when she died,” she sighed. “It’s all a bit fuzzy. I was about nine when she died. She just… went in her sleep, I believe.”

Eric balked, then cleared his throat. Alice shot him a  _ look _ , then placed her palms flat either side of her head before flipping casually and seamlessly into a sitting position on the floor so that she could face him properly. The vampire was confused by the action.

“I know, I know… listen, tell me how she died and I’ll tell you a bit more about myself. Deal?”

“Uh - yeah, sure. Seems fair… well. Your grandmother had a vision of dying from cancer so she… wanted to avoid that. So… she contacted Godric - my make - and essentially asked him to kill her and leave no trace. It  _ looked  _ liked she died in her sleep.”

Alice was unsure of how she could even react to that. It took a moment for it to even register in her brain properly, and she took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay… fine.” She buried her head in her hands for some time, pressing her palms against her eyelids so that she didn’t cry. Sitting upright again after a minute or two, she sniffed. “Did your maker drain her?”

“Yes. Not fully, but enough to slow her heart down and eventually stop in its own time.” Eric leaned forward. “This conversation took a rather depressing turn, so let’s bring it back shall we? You’re in intense pain right, and yet… you did  _ that. _ ” He gestured from her sofa to the floor.

Alice shrugged, looking a little sheepish. “You know that thing where parents try and make a child have a hobby and normally the child hates it so drops it when they about ten years old? Well, I actually liked my hobby so… it stuck. Until I went to university.”

“What was the hobby?”

She brought her knees up and hugged them to her chest, almost embarrassed to admit what she was about to. “I used to… do… ballet. And have since retained a certainly level of flexibility and dexterity from it.”

Eric chuckled. “Oh that is  _ textbook. _ Of course you fucking did  _ ballet. _ That still doesn’t quite explain doesn’t explain how you got off the couch that seamlessly while in pain…”

“Exercise is meant to help the  _ monthly pains _ , so I have a tendency to do bizarre things like flip backwards off the sofa and stretch in the mornings. Every little helps, and I don’t want to overdo it.” Alice paused. “Anything else you’d like to hear about my personal life, or are we done there?”

“Why’d you stop?”

“I didn’t have time to keep it up. I can still dance to a beat though - I think. But I’m not going to be doing any of that for you, before you ask.”

“I wasn’t going to,” he said with a smirk. “You’re a lot more feisty and open today.”

“My patience with men around this time of the month has a tendency to wear thin; it’s been a while since I’ve been able to show it. My apologies though; you don’t really deserve me being tetchy.”

“When will you stop apologising for being you?”

“Can we  _ please _ be done with my personal life for tonight? I’m not big on talking about it in general, let alone the stuff that happened before I moved here,” she told him rather pointedly. At that moment, her phone alarm went off and she jumped before turning it off. Alice got off the floor and wandered into the kitchen, coming back with a glass of water and a packet of painkillers.

She sat down on the sofa, popping two of  the pills and gulping them down with the water. Eric watched her with a strange curiosity - humans had become so bizarre to him in the thousand years he’d been a vampire. Especially women; especially the one sitting in front of him, trying her best not to whine in pain as she sat back upside down on her sofa.

“Would having my blood help at all?” he asked her.

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out if I’m honest. I think I’ve had a fair bit of your blood recently, I’d rather not have any more for the time being.”

In an instant, Eric had moved round so that he was standing between her legs that were flopped over the back of the sofa. Alice frowned up at him, confused about what he was doing there.

“There is one other way I could be of assistance,” he told her with a smirk, reaching down and taking hold of her arms, lifting her so that she was sitting atop the sofa now. “It’d be beneficial for the both of us.”

It took Alice a moment for her to realise what he was getting at, and her cheeks went bright red - Eric chuckled at that reaction.

“Maybe not tonight,” she squeaked out. “Another time? Considering… you know… I’m human and this does happen once a month.”

“I’ll be holding you to that,” Eric replied, stepping back away from her. “How about I leave you in peace watching shit TV?”

“I didn’t bring my DVDs, don’t judge me for watching shit telly,” she said, more relaxed now that the prospect of oral sex was off the table for tonight. “I’ll be feeling a bit better tomorrow night for actually dealing with my  _ thing. _ ”

“Is that what you’re calling it?” he wasn’t massively impressed with that as he headed towards the front door. “Mildly boring, but whatever.”

“Good night, Eric.”

As appeared to be habit with him whenever he left via the front door, he disappeared with a sweeping bow. Alice was never sure how to react to that, but it entertained her to no end. Sighing, she flopped back to her upside down position, wishing she had something better to keep her occupied whilst the painkillers did their best to kick in.


	15. Weird

An incessantly ringing mobile phone disrupted Alice from her dinner the next evening. She ignored it twice but the third time it rang she finally picked it up.

_ “Come to Fangtasia,” _ Eric said, sounding more frantic that normal.

“Why?” Her brow knotted as she ate another mouthful of pasta.

_ “I didn’t mention it, but Bill left the baby vamp with me soon after I visited you at your window a few days ago… I cannot deal with her bullshit right now.” _

She swallowed her food, thinking over what he was asking her - and it didn’t make her happy in the slightest. “Are you - are you asking me to help you babysit a vampire?”

_ “Something like that. She’s very annoying, and Pam is being less than helpful. Chow won’t go near her either.” _

Alice huffed. “I’ll finish eating and come over.”

_ “Thank you.” _

He hung up after that, which was odd. He was usually a little more… extravagant with his goodbyes, for want of a better word, so this made Alice think this really was an emergency. Regardless, she still took her time with finishing up her dinner and left her plate in the sink afterwards - she’d deal with that in the morning.

Alice trudged upstairs after that to get her usual oversized cardigan to bundle up and feel a little more at home in while she was at Fangtasia - it had been quite some time since she’d been there while the club itself was full. She didn’t particularly fancy being leered at.

She slipped on a pair of shoes and made her way out to the car, driving as slow as she could to Fangtasia. She wasn’t keen on doing this and wondered if this was her way of owing Eric one for… well. She wouldn’t say ‘all that he had done for her’ because really - what had he done besides being the trigger for her to realise she was a little more than human? She supposed he  _ had _ been pretty decent to her, all things considered.

Eventually she got there, but for the most part Alice sat in her car and stared at the building, not wanting to go deal with a baby vampire whom she hadn’t met before. She  _ really _ hoped Eric didn’t leave her alone with them. Sighing, she got out the car and headed towards the entrance, where Pam appeared positively surprised to see her.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” the vampire said, a cheeky smirk coming to her face. “Although… doesn’t Eric usually head over to ya?”

“I was summoned, so to speak,” Alice told her.

“Ah. Yeah. The baby vamp is giving him trouble tonight and I  _ truly _ can’t be fucked to deal with it. I’ve had my go with her. She’s annoying. Enjoy!” The last part was overly cheery as she let Alice pass, and it did absolutely nothing to reassure the human woman about how the night was going to go down.

She spotted Chow as she wandered through to the back of the building and they exchanged a quick nod of acknowledgement. She almost legged it back out of Fangtasia upon getting to the shut door of Eric’s office, as there were some… not particularly nice sounds coming from it. In fact, there was quite a bit of shouting going on.

All the same, Alice knocked on the door. It made the shouting stop.

Eric answered a few moments later, and the moment she was inside he slammed the door shut tight.

The vampire in question looked like she was in her late teens, with big blue eyes and long, ginger hair. She was also dressed like the stereotypical Fangtasia dancer and Alice knew that was most likely thanks to Pam. The moment the vampire saw Alice, her fangs dropped and she immediately lunged for her - but Eric grabbed her before she could do any damage.

“Jessica,” he said. “Alice is a special friend of mine, so you won’t be harming her at all. That’s not very nice of you to jump at her like that.”

“She smells  _ so good _ ,” Jessica commented.

“I’m sorry -  _ special friend? _ ” Alice repeated, raising an eyebrow at Eric. He rolled his eyes and let go of Jessica who went to sit on the sofa, watching the human quite hungrily.

“You still smell like blood,” he remarked. “How did you manage to get through the bar without being… accosted?”

“I walked pretty quickly. Also yes, because funnily enough these human things that happen do just blow over within a day,” Alice huffed, sitting down in one of the chairs at Eric’s desk, which he came to lean on next to her. “Besides, you’re the one that asked me to come here. You are  _ not _ leaving me along with a hungry vampire.”

“I wasn’t going to leave you alone with her,” he said, exasperated. “It’s just… you’re a teacher. She’s what? Seventeen? Have you taught seventeen year olds before?”

Alice sighed but nodded all the same. “Seventeen year olds are the fun ones. I had a class of them back in England, and one of the girls I tutor now is at that lovely age. Why?”

Eric flung out his arm, gesturing towards Jessica. “Impart your wisdom. Go.”

Alice looked at him as if to say ‘what the fuck’ because truly, there were no words to express how ridiculous he was being in that current moment. Even Eric was aware of it, because he merely shrugged at her response and folded his arms. She glanced at Jessica who was clearly just as confused as she was.

She turned to Eric. “Are you asking me to do this because you think I have some kind of magical firm had on the basis that I’m from England?”

His face fell, and Alice knew she had got it in one.

“Jessica,” she said, turning back to the vampire, who presented an inherent disinterest in anything that Alice had to say. “If I were you, take everything Eric says with a pinch of salt because he’s probably going to be a terrible influence on you.”

“Excuse me?” He was  _ not _ impressed with that starting point.

“Eric, are you paying me to do this? No, you’re not. I’ll do what I like with this, thank you.”

Jessica snorted, and Alice knew that working her way into the vampire’s good books was working.

“But, I’m sure he’ll teach you how to be a good vampire, and I’m pretty certain I can teach you how to blend in with humans a little better,” she carried on. “Pam’s choice in clothing doesn’t particularly suit you.”

“I like it,” Jessica shrugged. “I ain’t ever worn something this slutty before, it’s kinda  _ fun. _ ”

“I mean… that’s fair, I guess. Have some variety in your wardrobe though.” Alice paused for a moment to risk glancing at Eric briefly, who appeared to be quite surprised at how civilly she was talking to Jessica. “Tell me, why did Eric have to call me here tonight to meet you?”

“I just wanna learn how to feed like a proper vampire!” she exclaimed. “He told me he was gonna teach me, but that ain’t happened…”

“Eric… I think I’ve figured out why you were struggling tonight. Get Pam to take her out now or something. Maybe Chow can be on door duty?” Alice offered to the older vampire, giving him big puppy eyes. Somehow she hoped that might work, and Eric knew what she was trying to do. He rolled his eyes but nodded all the same.

“Pam!” he called out, going to sit behind his desk. A minute later, the lazy blonde vampire opened the door and stood there, a hand on her hip. She looked bored. “Go show Jessica how to feed. I think we’ve made her suffer enough with TruBlood the past couple of nights…”

“Can’t Chow do it? I’m wearing a new skirt. Don’t wanna get it all messy,” she replied, now unimpressed.

“Pam…”

“Urgh. Come on, you.” She gestured to Jessica, and soon enough they were gone, the door thankfully shut.

“You didn’t have to do that thing with your eyes at me. I would have done it anyway,” Eric told Alice. “Did you always do that to get your way?”

“Hey, I have three older siblings. I did what I needed to when I was a child,” she chuckled. “So… now what?”

Wordlessly, Eric reached out and rested his hand palm upwards on his desk. Alice glanced down at it cautiously, concerned about what she would see once taking hold of it. He didn’t push her to take it - he allowed her to do so in her own time. The moment she saw it, he could feel her retreat back into her shell again; she’d been stepping out of it a lot more recently, getting better with actually dealing anything, but the moment she saw something that frightened her? She’d regress again. One step forward, two steps back.

That’s what he’d noticed, at least, and it was fascinating and sad all at the same time. As she sat opposite him, she looked so delicate and tiny, drowning in the fabric of that damned cardigan she always wore - which didn’t help with how fragile she appeared. He wondered if there was anything more feisty beneath the surface; any confidence that had dissipated before she arrived in town.

He snapped out of his thoughts when she did, finally, take hold of his hand. He only saw something for a split second before it was gone from his mind; but Alice was still very much experiencing. One thing he had never noticed before was the way her eyes clouded over - gray irises and white pupils.

The moment she let go of his hand they faded back to their usual bright green colour, and looked absolutely horrified.

“You stopped me from seeing it,” Eric commented, shocked. “How did you-”

“I don’t know,” she replied with a frown, wrapping the cardigan tight around herself and not looking away from his hand. “Eric… you wouldn’t… you wouldn’t hurt me, would you? As in physically attack me?”

“No. I wouldn’t dare. Why?”

“What I saw just now - you attacked someone with Pam and Chow,” she paused, contemplating her next words carefully. “I get that you have vampire related business that has nothing to do with me, but why would you hurt someone?”

“They either owed me or wronged me. Most likely the latter,” he told Alice with a nonchalant shrug, which didn’t entirely help the fact that he could sense her beginning to get angry and afraid. “I’m over a thousand years old, sweetheart, sometimes I’m not nice. You’re probably the first person in a while I’m nice to.”

“Is it an act?”

“Please, do you really think I can act that well? Of course it’s not. You’d know if I was faking it. Trust me.”

Alice sighed, but nodded all the same. “You are aware this is going to bug me every time I see you, right?”

“It’s going to hang around us like a bad smell until you stop it or it doesn’t ever happen. I suggest you hope for the latter.” He was trying to be casual about it in an effort to ease her worry, but it wasn’t working as well as he had hoped. At least she was sensible enough to realise it wasn’t anything to do with her - although it didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to stop the incident from happening.

Her shoulders sank - not in a negative way, but in a way that suggested she was beginning to relax a little, even if there was an underlying anxiety still there. He supposed there  _ was _ some trust there for him after all, except she was being careful about it. He couldn’t fault her for that, it was clever if not also reeking of paranoia, but she couldn’t help that.

“Your eyes,” Eric said quietly after a long bout of silence. “They turn grey when you see things. I didn’t notice it until tonight.”

“That’s… weird.”

“I’m pretty certain that’s the first time you’ve said those words out loud, and it’s only just  _ now? _ After what, a month?” Eric replied, amusement lacing his voice to the point that it now fully calmed Alice. “Okay, sweetheart. You’re clever but sometimes a little slow.”

“Don’t talk to me about being slow, I think I’m aware of how slow I can be,” she muttered, a slight edge in her tone. Eric tilted his head to the side ever so slightly as he surveyed her again.

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“I’ll allow you a singular question, and that’s it for tonight.”

“Who was it that… hurt you?” he asked carefully.

She took a deep breath before answering. “Ex-boyfriend. But you already figured that out, hadn’t you?”

“Pam had a suspicion.”

“You and Pam spoke about me?” Alice seemed surprised at that.

“The way you act is concerning. We already established you don’t want to let anyone in, but you’ve… let me in. Of all people.”

“You’re helping me, and you’re the kind of person to take at face value. And… we’re… friends? Kind of?”

Eric made a face at the word ‘friends,’ and Alice rolled her eyes. Of course he didn’t want to actually admit it, but that didn’t matter to her. He still gave her the time of day - or night, rather. She then stood up, no longer keeping her arms wrapped around herself and straightening out her dress.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow.”

As she started to make her way out of the office, Eric called after her.

“No kiss?” he teased.

“Don’t try it, not after what I saw tonight.”

Alice left before he could even formulate a proper response.


	16. Tension

The next couple of weeks passed in a similar manner: Alice would got about her day job as normal, but night time was for trying to hone in her ability - something of which Eric noted she was improving with. She was easily able to take hold of his hand and block everything out, as well as not have the images flashing before her eyes if she thought about it.

There was still an underlying scrutiny from Alice, however, as she knew there would come a time where Eric would attack someone in his office. He knew she wasn’t impressed with him in the slightest about it, and more often than not it hung in the air between when they did have their sessions together.

It was starting to get irritating - for the pair of them - as they would sometimes fall into silences that weren’t as comfortable as either of them liked. It was absolutely ridiculous.

As per usual, Eric was sitting in Alice’s armchair while she lounged on the sofa. She had avoided making eye contact with him all night on this particular Saturday, but now she was staring at him very,  _ very _ intently. It had been a while since she had actually, properly taken him in, in all his glorious form, but all she could fixate on right now was his  _ fucking hair. _ If there was one thing to distract her from the fact she had a growing anger towards him, it was the fact that Eric’s hair was as long as hers and not even styled nicely.

“What?” Eric asked her, tetchy, aware of the fact she was staring him down while he was currently sending a text to someone - Pam probably.

“I’m trying to distract myself, and so far it’s working.”

“Oh? What about me has you so distracted?”

“Your hair is absolutely horrific - although it’s not as horrific as you, clearly,” the last part of that slipped out of her mouth without intention. Silence hung between them again, and Alice stood up in a huff. “That’s it. I can’t deal with this!”

Eric let out a deep breath and pocketed his phone. “Good, because ignoring the problem isn’t exactly peachy for me either. Go on - yell at me if you want to, I’ll take it.”

She shook her head quickly. “No - no, that’s not me. I just - Eric - really? Why would you attack someone? I don’t even know  _ who _ it is you’re going to attack but… what good reason would you have for it?”

“Don’t forget I’m a vampire, sweetheart, it’s in my nature - besides, there’s a high chance I was provoked. That tends to get me irate enough to do something like that, especially if I’m hungry.”

Alice folded her arms, an apologetic look crossing her face. “Sorry, I still find it hard to comprehend what you’re capable of because… well… you’re  _ nice _ to me.”

“I wouldn’t say that I’m nice-”

“A lot of people think otherwise.”

“-I’d say I’m more tolerant of you.”

She sighed. “The other week you were saying I was different from ‘other breathers’ as you so eloquently put it. Is that still true?”

He shrugged. “It is, somewhat, although your latest vision has most likely warped your view of me and now you probably want to change how I act, don’t you?”

“No. I wouldn’t want to change you for anything.” The way Alice said that sentence amused Eric to no end - she spoke to him as she would speak to some kind of romantic partner, or potential romantic partner, or which he was neither. He eyed her curiously to the point that her cheeks went delicately pink.

“Have I mentioned how cute you are when you blush?”

“No, you haven’t. Don’t start now, complimenting me like that doesn’t exactly suit you,” she told him, raising an eyebrow. “Question: would you call us friends? I know we’ve touched on the topic before, but...”

He made a face at that, and reclined back in the seat, crossing one leg over the other. “I don’t know. I hate that word. Are we friends?”

“Well…” Alice came to sit on the arm of the chair he was in. “We kiss far too much to consider ourselves friends.”

“Fuck buddies?” he offered, and she spluttered.

“We - we’ve not exactly - done the um… you know…”

“Fucking?” Eric squinted at Alice - she had bouts of being a little feisty, but just one topic of conversation would send her back to being overly composed and shy. “We could always rectify that if you wanted. Might diffuse some of the tension.”

“Is that what that tension has been for the past two weeks? Sexual tension? As well as me getting angrier and angrier at you internally?” She was positively puzzled by that prospect, and Eric sighed when he realised-

“Shit. Pam was right.”

“What?”

“I have been sexually frustrated…”

“Don’t you have girls falling at your feet in Fangtasia?”

“I do, but they’re not-” he stopped himself. He didn’t want to admit something like that, and the worst part is that Alice knew exactly how that sentence was going to end.

“They’re not me,” she said for him, quietly.

“How about friends with benefits?” He brought the topic back to what they were originally discussing.

“All we’ve ever done is kiss, so not exactly many benefits there…”

“Well perhaps we can change that,” Eric said, grabbing her by the waist and sitting her so that she was straddling his lap. Alice gasped when he did that, not expecting it - but she happily settled there, even if she had gone bright red. “It’s funny how easy it is to embarrass you. Are you  _ that _ shy?”

“Um. Kind of? It’s just - just been a while…” she admitted sheepishly, beginning to play with his golden locks.

“There are other options apart from fucking, my dear,” he grinned at her, running a finger up her arm and over her shoulder.

“It’s… still… been a while.” Alice’s heart rate was beginning to increase ever so slightly and for once it was not from anxiety, but from intense anticipation. It was strange to think that here was someone who wanted her, but also respected the fact she had a few boundaries. Eric was hungrily watching her lips, waiting for her to make the first move.

So that’s what she did.

She very tentatively pressed her lips against his, her hands going to cup his face quite tightly. One of Eric’s hands went to the back of her neck, gripping the hair there and balling it up in his fist. Somehow that action pulled Alice even closer to his body - if that was even possible.

He stood up suddenly, his free hand supporting her thigh as she wrapped her legs around his waist properly, and they didn’t break apart once as he walked upstairs to her bedroom as if she weighed absolutely nothing. As he set her down on the bed, he settled between her thighs, trying to carry on their quite lovely makeout session but she stopped him. Alice gently pushed him back, and then reached to her bedside table to grab something.

She held up a hairband, making him raise an eyebrow. Regardless, Eric took it wordlessly and sat back on his knees as he tied his hair back into a ponytail. He knew he looked ridiculous, but the lady knew what she wanted; she most definitely appeared satisfied now, and allowed him to continue kissing her.

Eric slowly trailed a finger up her leg, and the softness of her skin only caused him to go faster; in fact, she seemed eager for him to take off her underwear a lot more quickly that he was currently going - so he happily obliged for her. He teased her with a finger, and she wriggled quite wonderfully underneath him. It turned him on to the point his fangs dropped down which took Alice by surprise.

He did her the service of retracting his fangs as he placed a trail of kisses down her jaw, neck, and collarbone. As much as Eric would have liked to rip her dress off, it was far too pretty for that. Besides - they weren’t going to do much else other than what he was about to do to her.

As his head got to between her legs, he pressed little kisses to her thighs as he lifted her skirt and placed her legs over his shoulders so that her feet could rest on his back. Eric didn’t let go of her thighs as he set to work with his tongue at that little sensitive spot - and oh how he delighted in how much the tiny lady before him was enjoying it. The way she would occasionally, gently grind her hips up against his mouth only served to make him go quicker with his ministrations.

At that point, she started to make the sweetest moaning noises - everything about her was so  _ delicate _ \- and it made Eric wonder how long it had actually been since anyone had done this to her. Obviously, this was something at the top of his list to do to  _ every woman he could _ , (and should be for any man) as well as the one thing that women should always expect and have done to them, but her reaction told him otherwise.

So of course when she came, the sounds she made rang out gloriously in his ears, and the feeling of her toes curling on his back was nothing short of wonderful. Eric slowed his pace and eventually stopped when he knew that Alice was done.

He removed himself from under her legs, crawling up next to the breathless woman. She had gone incredibly pink in the cheeks, and the moment Eric lay next to her she rolled on top of him to passionately kiss him. He chuckled underneath her, but ultimately broke away.

“Don’t get greedy now,” he warned her mockingly, wiping his mouth. “I take it you enjoyed that?”

Alice didn’t answer and only attacked his lips again. Eric flipped them so that she was underneath him once more and pulled back, getting off the bed. He undid his hair, dropping the band on her bedside table. She leaned up on her elbows and pouted at him which made him laugh.

“I have to go annoy Bill Compton now. Get some sleep.”

“That’s not a good excuse to leave…” she still sounded breathless, which only made Eric smirk; he was  _ definitely _ getting better.

“It’s not, no, but unfortunately I have to. Another unfortunate thing? I have to leave via your front door, and you are going to find it difficult to walk.”

She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “I don’t believe you’re  _ that _ good.”

Eric raised an eyebrow as he made his way to her bedroom door. “Good night, Alice. Don’t fall over trying to follow me.”

As he left, Alice huffed as she lay back down on her bed, debating whether or not trying to prove him wrong.

She dozed off before she had even made a decision.

-

Alice awoke the next morning not sure if the previous night had even happened. The only telltale signs of it were the fact she was still in yesterday’s clothes without underwear. That wasn’t like her at all - she never did anything randomly sexual with anyone. There was a first time for everything, she supposed.

It got her wondering: if Eric was  _ that _ good with just his mouth, how good was the rest of him? Even that thought alone was enough to make her blush. She needed a long shower. And to get out of the house on this fine Saturday afternoon. Maybe tell someone about this. Maybe she should confess to Sookie. That seemed like a terrible idea but Alice reckoned the waitress could keep a secret.

So an hour later, she found herself driving to Bon Temps in the hopes Sookie was working or actually available. Either didn’t matter. It seemed odd, but she’d rather meet Sookie in a public area because it would mean the waitress couldn’t get too angry at Alice for… letting  _ that _ happen with Eric.

Arriving at Merlotte’s just after the lunch hour, there was a mildly off mood to the staff - most of it seemed to be stemming from Sam himself, although he appeared to perk up a little when Alice walked in. Tara looked like she was glowing in comparison to the last time she had met her.

Sookie was still a little bruised from the incident with the killer, but her face lit up on seeing Alice.

“God, if you hadn’t shown up here, I would think you’re missing too!” the blonde woman gave her a hug and pulled her towards a booth. “You look stressed, are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m not stressed, I’m just - well…” Alice squinted as she thought about the best way to explain it to Sookie. “Something happened last night, and I keep thinking it wasn’t real.”

“Was it something bad? Did Eric flip out on you?”

“No, and no - it did involve Eric, but it wasn’t anything bad…” Alice gave Sookie a very pointed look.

The waitress gasped. “Alice! You didn’t have sex with him, did you?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“No! No - honestly, I didn’t, but… something else happened and… it’s not a very  _ me _ thing to let happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how a one night stand works, right? Well, it was like that except… he just… used… his… mouth,” Alice told Sookie sheepishly, and the waitress’ eyebrows shot up into her hairline. Then, unexpectedly, she started to giggle.

“ _ No! _ ” That was  _ very _ odd: she didn’t seem to be angry in the slightest. “Seriously? I mean - I should be more annoyed because it’s  _ Eric _ but… you’re being such a sweetheart about it. How did it even happen?”

“I was slightly pissed off with him and he stopped having sex with people at Fangtasia, basically. Textbook tension, I guess.”

“Yeah, I can kinda get that with you two, going from what I’ve seen. Why did you come and tell me though?”

“I needed to tell someone, and you’re really the only other person I talk to who also happens to be with a vampire. As much as you dislike Eric he  _ really _ knew what he was doing and it was refreshing,” Alice sighed contentedly, and thought about the previous night for a split second long enough to distract herself. She blushed and brought herself back to reality. “Also I’m telling you because if anyone’s likely to see how me and Eric interact, it’s you. You need to understand why.”

Sookie nodded. “Just to check - he didn’t glamour you, did he?”

“Vampires can’t do that to me,” Alice whispered. “Just like how you can’t read my thoughts.”

“They can’t do it to me either!” she seemed excited at the prospect of someone else being similar to her in that regard. Sookie then held out her hand. “Secrets are safe with each other?”

Alice happily took her hand and shook it. “Definitely.”

“And speaking of secrets… did you know about the vampire that Bill turned?” Sookie raised an eyebrow after dropping Alice’s hand, who immediately turned red. “How comes you didn’t tell me?! Have you known for the past two weeks?!”

“Yes. Sorry… I’ve been busy and I thought Bill might have mentioned something… but now it makes sense why he palmed her off on Eric.”

“She was brought back the other night. I found out last night because I went to see Bill after… a woman was found here with her heart cut out.”

Alice made a face. “I’m so glad I don’t live in this town. I don’t think I could take it.”

“Honestly, it used to be alright… just more recently things have been kicking off. Bon Temps is actually pretty quiet. Anyway… I get off at five if you wanna stick around and we can go hang out?”

“Sure,” Alice smiled. “I’d like that. I’ll stick around and follow you back to yours later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't put something so SPICY out on the internet before, hope y'all enjoyed it!


	17. Lafayette

 

Spending the evening with Sookie had been pleasant enough, although the topic of Lafayette missing was brought up and it did hang over them for a short time. Regardless, Alice enjoyed her time with the waitress outside of Merlotte’s.

They shared silly stories from their teen years, and Alice was surprised at how she found herself being a little more open with Sookie than expected. She ended up driving home in high spirits, awaiting Eric to make a house call as per.

Except he already had.

A gift bag filled with DVDs had been left on her porch, with a note signed “E.”

Alice immediately hopped back into her car to drive to Fangtasia, and vowing never to flippantly mention anything to Eric again. Was he that kind of person? To just drop a nice gift on your doorstep if you missed something? That seemed so odd of him, but Alice knew he’d been alive long enough to probably make enough money to throwaway on whatever he wanted to.

So if there was one thing Eric had not been expecting, it was for Alice to come storming into his office that night with her fists clenched, chewing on the inside of her lip - he knew for a fact she wasn’t entirely happy, and was conflicted about something. That somewhat hilarious expression turned to confusion, then to anger, especially when she saw Lafayette on the sofa.

The small human crossed her arms, not sure whether to look at Eric with the foil in his hair and partially covered in blood, Lafayette, a smirking Pam, or a very blank Chow. The silence in the room was deafening.

“Pam, Chow, please leave Alice and I to talk…” Eric said. “I believe I know what she’s here about.”

The female vampire rolled her eyes but left the room all the same, Chow following after her. The door was promptly closed.

“Why is Lafayette here?” she asked slowly.

“He sells vampire blood,” Eric said nonchalantly. “I was asking him a few questions about a missing vampire which could have had something to do with him.”

“Eric, he’s been missing for two weeks.” There were tears in her eyes as she approached the desk, placing her hands on it and leaning forward. “Does he know anything?”

“He gave me nothing.”

“Then let him go,” she told him gently, and even that made the vampire’s eyes flash dangerously. “I’ll take him back to Bon Temps. Please.”

“No,” Eric was beginning to get tetchy, which didn’t help Alice’s current emotional state. “I haven’t decided what to do with him yet.”

“Jesus Christ, Eric!” Alice smacked the desk out of frustration, shocking the other two occupants of the room. “I - sorry. Sorry, I shouldn’t… hit your stuff if I’m upset…” She was looking at the floor in shame.

“It’s… fine…” Eric didn’t know how to react, to the point where he even exchanged a bemused look with Lafayette, who was watching the interaction with great interest.

“I have another question,” Alice muttered, looking back up at Eric and sniffing, trying to hold back from crying. “Why are you covered in blood?”

“Oh, he - he tore up another man right in front of me,” Lafayette finally spoke.

“He silvered me, and I was hungry,” Eric said.

“How many people have you kept here over the past couple of weeks for questioning?” Alice brought it back to what she wanted to know.

“There was five of us,” Lafayette answered. Alice stood straight and dipped into the pocket of her cardigan, pulling out some keys and tossing them to the man.

“Go wait in my car,” she said. “You’re going home tonight.”

“Excuse me?” Eric wasn’t impressed, and raised his voice a little.

“You heard what I said. Lafayette - go.”

He didn’t need telling again, even if it was a slight struggle for him to walk.

Now Eric was fuming, so Alice sat down in the chair that Lafayette had vacated.

“Eric, I understand that you’re over a thousand years old and that you’re a vampire - you kill people sometimes, but for the love of  _ god _ it’s inhumane to keep people locked up!”

“I’m not going to change who I am because you came crying,” he snapped.

“I’m not asking you to-“

“Then what are you asking?” He was exasperated.

“Don’t kidnap humans - whatever the reason. I know you’re brutal, but you’re not icy all the way through - I’ve seen a side of you that not many would.”

“I can’t disagree with that, unfortunately,” he sighed. “Any of it. I’m thankful you at least understand I can’t do a personality switch.”

“I’ve told you before you’re honest, although you keeping someone I know as prisoner isn’t exactly honest.”

He shrugged. “There are some things that are strictly vampire business which you do not need to know about.”

“I can respect that - so long as it doesn’t involve people I know,” she agreed, finally calming from her frustrated stage. “Eric… you wouldn’t - you wouldn’t do something like that to me, would you? You wouldn’t turn on me like that?”

“Never,” he reassured her. “If I make a promise I keep it. Now go. I need Pam to finish off my hair… I’ll drop by later.”

“I will leave my window open a little.” Alice started making her way to the door. “Oh, and thanks for the DVDs - you  _ really _ didn’t have to.”

She left the office and managed to catch up to Lafayette as he hobbled through the main bar of Fangtasia. She offered to help him walk but he waved her off, giving her the car keys back. There was no communication between the two of them as they settled back into her car and started driving to Bon Temps.

Alice didn’t know what she could possibly say or do to help. It’s not like she knew him, and waited until he opened to actually talking to her; which happened when he needed to direct her to his house. His directions were murmured and shaken, which only made Alice more pissed off at Eric.

When she pulled up outside Lafayette’s, she finally spoke to him,

“I’m sorry he did that to you, Lafayette,” she muttered.

He waved her off as he got out of the car. “Ain’t your fault. Just do me a favour and slap him, would ya?”

She gulped, fully aware that violence wasn’t her forte; she nodded all the same to reassure him. “Do you want me to call Tara? Or Sookie?”

“No! No… can we keep this between us?” Lafayette asked. “Please?”

Alice nodded again. “Sure. Just… let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“Yeah… yeah… thanks doll.”

Lafayette shut the door and Alice waited until she saw that he was safely back inside.

She sped off back towards Shreveport, more pissed off than she could remember ever being. Alice knew that Eric could be an arsehole vampire but there was no way it was okay to actually kidnap people! It was never going to sit well with her that it had even happened.

She rolled her eyes upon seeing the bag of DVDs on her porch, and swept them up into her arms as she headed into her house, slamming the door and then tossing the bag into the living room. At this point, she didn’t care where they landed. She didn’t even bother to check, and instead went straight upstairs.

She was in a huff, and didn’t particularly want to go to bed in a huff. Instead she lay on her bed reading, because that was the only thing going to soothe her until Eric got there. She knew she’d ultimately talk more with him about it, maybe even try to understand his motives - he was obviously more than willing to debate about it earlier on.

Time passed as she was lost in her book, and at a stupidly late hour she was brought out of her fantasy world by a gentle tapping at the window. Alice went over to see Eric hovering outside it.

“Should I actually let you in? I know you have my permission but you still won’t enter unless I open the window myself,” she challenged him, and then noticed his new hair do. “Wow. That… that suits you better.”

“You’re correct, I do like to respect who and what is mine,” Eric said, and slicked back his hair. “I thought you might like it. It’s neat, isn’t it?”

“Pam did a good job. And I’m not yours - you haven’t bitten me yet,” she paused. “Eric, I’m still angry.”

“I know.”

“You look like how you did in that vision of mine.” She tilted her head to the side. “If I hadn’t have come today, would it have been Lafayette?”

Eric shrugged. “We’ll never know now, perhaps for the better.”

Alice was chewing on her lip again. “You’re awful. You really are. How can I trust you after this? Seriously?”

“You don’t sell vampire blood, Alice,” he groaned. She looked as if she had been slapped. “Oh yes, darling Lafayette was a V dealer. Everyone has secrets; including him, including me, and definitely including you. How do I know I can trust  _ you? _ ”

She was stumped; he had gotten her there with that question… but she was still able to come up with a decent response, as if to prove he couldn’t win in this situation. “Because I’m not going to try and change you. All I’m going to ask is you don’t hurt people I know.”

“Does that include your ex-boyfriend?”

“Do you  _ really _ think I know him? After he switched from the loveliest person I knew to someone who constantly tossed me aside in every way when he thought I wasn’t worth anything?” Alice bit back without thinking, letting out more information than she intended. She thought that for a moment she could have caught a glimpse of sadness in Eric’s eyes before they both caught themselves.

“Even if you betrayed me, I wouldn’t harm you or lock you up,” he then assured her. After a few seconds of thought, Alice opened the window before going back to lie on her bed with her book again. He came on through quite gracefully and shut it behind him.

Eric raised an eyebrow upon seeing Alice’s position as he sat down at the dressing table. “Are you trying to get me to quote  _ Titanic _ at you?” he asked her, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Alice rolled her eyes. “No, this is just comfy. Now shush, I’m nearly done with this chapter.”

For the next ten minutes, Eric toyed with some of the items on the dressing table, most of which was makeup and hair clips which were all innocent enough, until he hissed in pain upon touching an item of jewellery. “Fuck!”

The woman immediately dropped the book and scrabbled to take the silver necklace away from him and hide it in a draw. “Sorry,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “My gran passed it down to me. I would wear it on a regular basis but then…” a faraway look came to her, and he absentmindedly touched her neck, as if she was remembering something. She shook herself out of it. “Never mind. I should really keep it put away, especially if we keep having… well, I guess the appropriate thing to call it would be late night booty calls.”

Eric chuckled. “That’s what you’re calling this?”

“It’s the only thing I can actually liken it to, just… there’s not any actual sex. Apart from last night’s encounter,” Alice shrugged, and he laughed some more. “What?”

“You still hold yourself so English and  _ composed _ , even when talking about booty calls,” he said. “It’s… how would you phrase it? You would say it’s ‘ _ quite cute,’”  _ he put on an English accent for that last part, and it made Alice giggle.

Within a second, he was on top of her on the bed, and she was stunned by the sudden change in position. Eric leaned down and kissed her on the lips briefly.

“I don’t know how I feel about being your  _ booty call _ ,” he whispered in her ear, and she whacked him lightly on the chest, wriggling out from underneath him and sitting against the headboard. She looked at him curiously.

“We should probably stop saying that phrase… might kill the mood.”

Eric came up towards her, and gently spread her legs apart and settled between them, his hands resting flat on the bed either side of her hips.

“It’s strange,” he said quietly, looking at her directly in the eye, “how there’s something about you which has cracked the ice. Like I could feel more human when I’m with you. I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“I’m not sure I do either,” Alice replied, wondering what effect should could possibly have on  _ anyone _ to make them feel that.

Regardless, she delicately played with his freshly trimmed hair and put her lips to his again, except this time with more force. He had some kind of making up to do right now, and felt comfortable enough around Eric to potentially let him have his way with her.

As they kissed, her hands wandered to the zip on his fleece, and she promptly undid it, sliding it off of him. When he fingers traced over his skin, there was a spark there. She closed her eyes and let the feeling of Eric take over, allowing herself to let go and get wrapped up in how he felt to her. Cold, comforting, something a little more than a friend… and something else she couldn’t figure out.

She was brought back to reality by Eric pushing at her lip with his tongue, and soon enough they were tasting the inside of each other’s mouths. Somehow, they didn’t get saliva absolutely everywhere.

One of Eric’s hands made its way to her thigh, and he cautiously trailed his finger up underneath her dress. A hitched breath from Alice made him pause, so instead he gripped the flesh there and placed a line of kisses down her jaw, her neck, to her shoulder. There, Eric used his teeth to move the dress strap so that her bosom was more exposed. In fact, he did the same for both shoulders so that he could ultimately give equal attention to both of her breasts.

She slipped down the headboard and was fully laying on the bed underneath as she experienced that smaller wave of pleasure. He lightly nipped at her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist - that only made his fangs come down.

The hand under her dress went up to her hip.

“May I?” Eric asked, because he knew it was good to ask - there was a fragility there that he was always so careful of, and he didn’t want to overstep a boundary and make it worse. He rarely ever considered that kind of thing with anybody, let alone a  _ human. _ But this human was special, otherwise he would be helping her, protecting her, or making almost nightly calls to her home to talk or do goodness know what else with her.

“ _ Please _ ,” Alice practically begged him, and Eric peeled off her underwear. He tossed it aside, and undid the button and zip on his trousers while he was sat back on his knees.

He pulled Alice up onto his lap - she was a delightfully frazzled mess right about now, even more so than the previous night - and she threw his arms around his shoulders, offering her neck to him. He wanted and didn’t want to bite her - if he did, that was it. They were going to be properly connected from that point forward.

Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

If the last traces of his humanity could be rediscovered by a human woman who wouldn’t dare tell anyone how absolutely whipped he would happily be for her if she asked, then maybe they might as well call it quits and be fully connected.

He adjusted himself so that as he bit her, he entered her too.  _ God _ she felt good, and her blood was even better. Her little cries of pleasure were all the more entertaining, particularly when he was able to make her come before he even did. The blood drinking had left a little bit of a mess dripping onto the bed, but Alice rarely had visitors and she was a responsible enough adult to change the covers herself.

“My, my,” he purred into her ear as he started to reach his peak. “So quick, after last night?”

“Shhh…” she responded, cupping his face and practically shoving his tongue down his throat. He nibbled at her tongue, and she retracted it back into her mouth right away. He smiled against her lips as they went back to proper kissing - she knew he was charge here.

Eric then broke away for a second and said, “take my blood.”

Alice did as she was told, and bit him in the neck as hard as she possibly could. The sensation of her drinking from him as he came was something he hadn’t experienced in a long time - it was euphoric.

By the time they were both done, they lay next to each other on the bed looking like a crime had been committed. Blood stained their bodies and clothes.

“Put down a towel next time?” Alice suggested, ensuring her dress was back on properly.

“Oh,  _ definitely _ ,” Eric said as he did his trousers back up. “I think we had more of each other than we should have done.”

“It was probably all that pent up sexual tens-” Alice took a deep breath and sat up. “What - what is that?”

Eric sat up with her too. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s like - what are you feeling right now? Are you feeling-”

“Euphoric,” they said at the same time.

“That’s not - that’s not possible,” Eric said, taken aback by it. “Humans aren’t meant to feel what vampires do when blood is shared like that.”

Alice clutched at her chest, falling off the bed to her knees on the floor, breathing heavily. “Eric - this is strange - you’re shocked-”

“You’re starting to panic, but one doesn’t need to be connected to you to know that.”

“-Do you think you can tone it down? It’s not - it’s not helping me.”

He was nodding as he came to sit with Alice on the floor. He carefully wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. As he tried to not let this new revelation get to him so much, he could feel Alice calming down. This was still perhaps the most bizarre discovery they could have made, and he realised-

“When you see things, it’s because you’re feeling. You’re feeling it in you, and it’s almost like… it’s extending to other aspects of your life too.”

“That sounds like guesswork rather than spoon feeding,” Alice muttered.

“Godric - my maker - would know. You’ll meet him one day, and that day needs to come soon. I need his guidance on this too.”

“It’s the blind leading the blind with us, isn’t it?” Alice could feel Eric’s relaxed mentality coming through to her, which actually helped her become less tense in his arms. He didn’t say anything to that, and he didn’t need to. It was true enough that there was no need to agree to the statement.

Besides, silence was their friend at this point. They both needed the quiet to take in what they had just discovered.


	18. Jessica

The next day involved cleaning up the mess that was her bed. Which was fine, it was mildly amusing that they had gotten rather overzealous the previous night. She popped the sheets in the wash and let the machine do its thing while she went about the rest of her day.

Again, she tried incredibly hard not to get distracted by the previous night - although, the thing she kept trying not to think about was the fact she was able to feel what Eric was feeling. He was just as shocked as her about it, and for that she was glad. She wasn’t the only one that had to deal with the element of surprise, there.

What brought her out of her thoughts was a text from Sookie, asking her to keep an eye on Jessica that night as she needed to be in work. Alice sighed, not particularly keen on the idea, but said yes all the same.

While driving there that evening, it suddenly occurred to Alice she really didn’t know what she was doing, especially because if anything went wrong with the baby vampire, neither Eric or Bill were there to help. She had even brought a spare pair of clothes for Jessica, knowing that there was still a very high chance that she would still be in the clothing Pam had gotten her. 

When she got to the old Compton residence, Alice got out the car and had barely made it to the front door before it was thrown open by a crying Jessica. She was rather taken aback by the fact her tears were blood; something she didn’t know about vampires.

“I just saw my family on TV!” Jessica sobbed, pulling Alice inside. The English woman wasn’t even surprised to find the state of the inside of the house reflected the outside, only it was furnished and had electricity, obviously.

They headed to the sofa, where upon sitting down Jessica began to cry some more. Alice, having been thrust into this situation quite suddenly, felt a little awkward trying to comfort the vampire but tried her best all the same. She was able to ease into it quite easily, and was practically hugging Jessica within a minute or two.

“Alice, I miss them,” she said, returning the hug. “I wanna see them again.”

“You can’t…” Alice carefully pulled away from the vampire, still keeping a hand on her shoulder. “You have to… adjust.”

“Is there anyone you miss? Like back home in England?” Jessica stared at Alice with such big, blue, vulnerable eyes that she felt even more sorry for the girl than she already did.

“Yes, there is. A whole group of friends that I can’t talk to again because they associate with my ex-boyfriend still. I feel like if I tried, I’d only be able to watch them from a distance and wish that I could be there with them,” she explained a little wistfully. Now was not the time to have a deep conversation with Jessica.

“What if - what if I did that? We went to see my family but I just stayed in the car?” the vampire asked tentatively.

Alice groaned. “No, we can’t. Bill wouldn’t be happy and I don’t think Eric would either! We can’t, Jessica, I’m sorry.”

“Please? I promise to stay in the car! You can lock the doors if you’re that worried!”

Alice wished she hadn’t said anything now - all she did was plant an idea in Jessica’s head that wasn’t going to go away. After some consideration of all the pros and cons of the idea, she nodded, and never saw the vampire look so happy and wipe away her tears.

“We’ll go, but you’re getting changed out of whatever it is Pam got you,” the human commented on the vampire’s attire. “I have a spare dress for you in the car, go change into that and we’ll go.”

Jessica zipped off without another word, and Alice began making her way back out to the car. She was joined by the vampire a few moments later, and they set off mostly in silence - every now and then Jessica would pipe up to give directions.

It was completely dark by the time they had arrived. They slowed to a stop on the opposite side of the street to where the house was, watching it in quiet contemplation.

“My mama and sister will be in right now. Daddy’s still probably on his way home from work,” Jessica said quietly.

“I’m sorry about all of this, Jessica,” Alice said. “If - if I’d been able to properly stop Longshadow from going after Sookie, Bill wouldn’t have killed him and you’d still be there.”

The vampire frowned at Alice as she looked at her. “I don’t blame you for what happened to me. Shit happens, right?”

Alice nodded with a small smile coming to her face - a smile that was wiped away quickly when Jessica sensed something.

“There’s my sister.”

She was gone from the car. Alice swore under her breath before vacating the car as quickly as she could, running after Jessica who was already at the front door.

“Jessica! I told you, you couldn’t!” she said, frantically trying to pull her away from the house. The attempt was futile, as an older, thinner woman with greying ginger hair answered the door.

“Jessica?”

“Mama…”

Mrs Hamby  practically flung herself at Jessica, who turned them so that she could hopelessly look at Alice.

“Don’t. Cry,” she hissed at the vampire.

They broke apart just as a girl who looked like a younger version of Jessica appeared in the doorway.

“Oh… hey Eden,” Jessica said.

“Where were you?” Eden asked.

“That doesn’t matter!” Mrs Hamby exclaimed. “Eden, go call your father and tell him Jessica’s home.”

Eden disappeared back into the house, and Jessica finally took a few steps towards Alice as if she had suddenly realised the severity of the situation now. She cleared her throat.

“Um, mama? This is… this is my… friend. Her name’s Alice,” she then said. Mrs Hamby looked at Alice warmly and gave her a quick hug.

“Thank you. Thank you so much for bringing her back to us.”

“You’re welcome,” Alice gave her a ridiculously fake smile, not sure how to break it to the woman that her eldest daughter couldn’t stay.

“Aren’t you going to invite us in?” Jessica asked, as her mother came to put her arm around her.

“Jessica! We can’t - sorry, Mrs Hamby, we can’t stay.”

“Honey your arm is like ice! Come on in and I’ll make you some tea…” Mrs Hamby said, beckoning for them to come inside with her. She led them through to the living room and made sure they were sitting comfortably before heading off to the kitchen.

Alice turned to Jessica, struggling to remain composed. “Would you like to place a bet on who’s going to get here first? Eric or Bill? Congratulations, Jessica, you’ve just put us in  _ so _ much trouble!” she whispered in a mildly aggressive voice. She could feel concern coming to her from Eric; he was probably wondering why she was getting annoyed.

“I’m sorry! It didn’t even feel like it was me doing it! It was probably those vampire impulse control issues…” she tried to defend herself, but Alice wasn’t buying it.

“I  _ really _ do not care about that right now. We need to leave.”

Alice grabbed Jessica by the wrist and stood up as Eden brought in a plate of sandwiches. Before the three of them could properly acknowledge was going on, the front door opened and Mr Hamby walked in. The girl placed the sandwiches on the coffee table regardless, backing away as the man walked into the living room.

He took one look at Jessica and gently stroked her hair and face, hugging her briefly before looking at her with vehemence in his eyes.

A curiosity overtook Alice, settling in her chest in a similar way to the previous night with Eric and she knew that the curiosity didn’t belong to her.

“How could you do this?”

“Daddy-”

“Do you have any idea what you put your mother through?!” his voice was getting louder and louder by the second.

Alice immediately moved away, her heart rate going up all of a sudden and her palms becoming clammy. Watching Jessica get blamed for something that wasn’t even her fault made bad memories come to the surface of her mind -  _ a movie running longer than expected and getting home late only to be yelled at  _ \- and she backed well into a corner of the room.

She watched the altercation take place, frozen and unable to do anything. She wanted to help - that was all this had been in the first place, her trying to help Jessica get through a rough patch - but figured at this point it would make things worse. Her body wouldn’t let her move from the one spot she was in.

“I didn’t let anybody do anything to me!” Jessica shouting at her father brought Alice back to the present for a moment. Her fangs were down, and she was not happy with her father in the slightest. “Oh, but I’m glad he did. Because now I get to homeschool  _ you _ in what it’s like to be scared.”

“Jessica - don’t be like him,” Alice said quietly, tears in her eyes. “Don’t sink to his level. Please.”

“Shut up,” the vampire snapped.

“This isn’t you,” Mrs Hamby begged.  _ When had she come into the room? _ Alice wondered.

“You don’t know the first thing about me! You’re too dumb to know anything!”

Before anything could continue, the front door was smashed in. Everyone jumped and turned to see Eric standing there, absolutely seething and his fangs down too.

“Back off, little girl,” Eric told Jessica in a dangerously quiet voice. She exchanged a worried glance with Alice, and moved away from her father. “Now take what is mine, and help her walk to the car.”

Frightened of Eric, Jessica nodded and went over to Alice, gently tugging her by the arm in order to get out of the house. Alice avoided making eye contact with the blonde vampire as they sidled past him in the doorway.

“We’ll be talking about this in a minute…” he muttered as they went past.

Alice’s steps were shaky as she felt his anger while she and the now crying Jessica held onto each other as they went to the car. The baby vampire got in the back while the human woman sat in the front passenger seat. They watched the house as Eric eventually disappeared inside it and came out ten minutes later.

He was walking to the car with his shoulders hunched - he was pissed off to hell and back.

Alice wordlessly handed him the keys when he got into the driver’s seat and they sped off instantly. It took some time before the situation at hand was even addressed.

“What the  _ fuck _ were you thinking in bringing her here?” his voice was still extremely low, and that made Alice’s tears finally fall. She didn’t say anything. “Alice, what the  _ fuck were you thinking?” _ he raised his voice, making her wince.

“She - she promised she was just going to stay in the car and watch, okay?” she managed to tell him in an even voice.

“She’s a baby vampire, how stupid are you to think that’s all she’d do?” Eric rolled his eyes as he said that, and Alice looked at him as if he had slapped her.

“Don’t you know what it’s like to miss people? She had her life taken from her! It was a harmless idea - she just wanted to see her family!” Alice somehow found it in her to raise her voice a little as well.

“A vampire has no family,” Eric told her. “And it wasn’t harmless - I just had glamour them within an inch of their lives to clean up your fucking mess.”

“Mr Northman,” Jessica piped up, “don’t blame Alice for this - it - it was my fault!”

“Oh, shut up,” he growled at her. Jessica folded her arms and proceeded to sulk in the back of the car. “You’re just as responsible as each other. Although perhaps Alice is slightly more to blame - how easily were you talked into taking her?”

“She missed them, just like I miss people back home.”

“So it was  _ that _ easy…” Eric was barely amused by that comparison. “How pathetically human of you.”

“Shut up,” Alice said through gritted teeth.

“I didn’t you think were as stupid as the other breathers.”

“Shut up!” she snapped. “Just because you’re too afraid that you actually experience human emotions around me doesn’t mean you can be an arsehole to me like that!” 

“Stop being so fucking irritating - you fucked up. Deal with it.”

“You sound like my ex.”

Eric’s eyes flashed dangerously and he hit the brakes on the car. The anger ebbing back and forth between their bond was deafening. Alice was trembling dangerously; with vexation or anxiety or both, she wasn’t sure.

The silence between the three of them was deafening, until Alice broke it by fumbling with her seatbelt and then getting out the car. Eric got out after her.

“Where are you going?”

“Away from you!” she shouted back at him, before carrying on walking down the dirt road they had been speeding down.

Eric stared after her for a few moments before getting back in the car, his jaw taut. Jessica shifted forward from the back seat, wiping her eyes.

“Aren’t you two meant to be friends?” she asked.

“Something like that…” Eric sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I crossed a line.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“Don’t try it, little girl, you’ve still got your maker to deal with.”

Jessica huffed and leaned back in her seat.

“You don’t have to be an asshole to me either.”

“I do. You fucked up big time,” he pointed out.

“Yeah - don’t you think I know that now?!”

Eric shook his head and closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to focus on Alice. There was another spike in anxiety from her - that didn’t surprise him - but then there was an incredible, searing pain coming from her that shocked him to his core.

Within an instant, he was out of the car and running as fast as his vampire speed would allow him towards her.

He slowed when he came close to her whereabouts, finding her face down on a side road with three horrific gashes down her back. It was inappropriate, but the sight and smell of her blood made his fangs drop. He hurried down to her side just as Jessica approached too.

Carefully, Eric rolled her trembling body over into his lap. Her entire body was locked up with tension, and he realised she was having an attack due to the shock of everything.

“Okay… okay… do me a favour and actually breathe.”

Alice made her usual strained, choking sound, so Eric merely bit his wrist and held it by her lips, which prompted her to actually take a breath before she attempted to drink his blood. Except the moment it touched her tongue, she convulsed violently and white foam erupted from her mouth.

Disgusted, Eric moved his wrist away from her and retracted his fangs, turning to Jessica.

“Go get the car.”

She nodded and promptly ran off. Eric had his attention on Alice again. Her spasms slowed down, and the foam stopped pouring out from her to the point where Eric felt he was able to properly hold her in his arms and stand up as Jessica came back with the car. The baby vampire hopped out the vehicle and opened the door to the back seat for the pair before she got back in the front once more behind the wheel.

“Drive to Fangtasia,” he said. She did as he asked without question.

“It - hurts,” Alice managed to get out. He hushed her, caressing her face with a single finger. She was blinking a lot, and Eric could feel her will to stay conscious fading.

“I’ve got you…” he whispered, wanting to kick himself for saying what he said for her to want to get out of the car. It was strange that the fact she had wanted to get away from him had… upset him? Had that  _ really _ upset him? He wasn’t sure, but he knew he definitely didn’t like it. The comment about her ex-boyfriend stuck with him too - Eric knew that was something they were going to talk about when she was healed.

Soon enough they had pulled up outside Fangtasia. Jessica spent her time holding open doors for Eric as he carried Alice inside, and she ended up staying inside the empty club with them. Pam came to see what all the commotion was about as a now mildly panicked lay Alice down on one of the leather seats.

“Pam, call Dr Ludwig,” he barked at his progeny.

“Shit,” was Pam’s only response to seeing Alice in the state she was in, and hurried to the back office once more.

Eric pulled up a chair close to Alice, not wanting to leave her side. He took hold of her hand carefully, and when she she closed her smaller one tight around his fingers a pang went through his dead heart. As he looked at her properly right now, he fully realised just how little and fragile she really was; he really did need to be cautious around her.

Then he could feel her slipping away.

“No - no, sweetheart, stay awake-”

His frantic attempts to keep her conscious were futile, as she was already out like a light.


	19. Scratches

When Alice awoke screaming in horrific pain because of what Dr Ludwig was pouring down her back, Eric held her down as best as he could without hurting her further. Her wound bubbled up and Ludwig dragged her finger down one of the gashes, picking up something and removing it.

Alice’s screams turned to little cries, so Eric dropped from his chair to the floor so he could be eye level with her. She looked at him as if to ask him why this was happening to her, but he was unable to give her an answer.

Ludwig continues her work, putting Alice in more extreme discomfort yet again. It took at least another twenty minutes before she was done and cleaning up the wound as best as she could.

“You’ll be able to give her your blood now,” she then said, packing away her things. “It should heal up just fine - I expect payment by Monday.

Eric nodded and watched as the tiny woman walked towards the exit of Fangtasia.

“Pleasure doing business…” he said.

“Fuck off!” were her last words before she exit the establishment entirely.

Eric turned back to Alice, dropped fang, and bit his wrist the second time that night to give to her. She was able to happily accept it this time, except perhaps drinking a little too eagerly. He took his wrist away from her before she overdid it.

While the blood was kicking in, he whipped out his phone and sent a text to Bill in an effort to summon him to Fangtasia, and asked him to bring Sookie along too.

She was beginning to look a little drowsy, and her wound was stitching itself back together just fine now. Eric retracted his fangs and realised that Alice was laying that practically naked except for her knickers, so did her the service of going to grab one of the larger Fangtasia shirts and helping her ease into it. The shirt was practically drowning her she was so small.

He scooped her up into his arms and carried her through to his office, where she lay her on the sofa and covered her with a blanket. He sat on the edge of the desk watching Alice as she fell asleep, feeling relieved that she was actually alive at the end of all of that. There was a pit forming in the bottom of his stomach as he stared at her - a strange bubbling fear about what could have happened if his stubbornness about their argument had overtaken him and he didn’t go to her. It was just lucky he had an agreement to uphold, and that he couldn’t ignore her - Eric knew there was no way in hell he could ever ignore Alice unless she specifically asked him to.

He was thankful for the fact he could feel her. It meant it was easier to get to her. Although he hated how  _ human _ it made him feel in the long run.

Eventually he sauntered out into the main area again, where Jessica was sitting anxiously on a bar stool, and Pam and Chow were now waiting with boredom etched on their faces.

“You two,” he addressed Pam and Chow, “search the woods around highway seventy-one and see if you can find what attacked Alice.”

“He can do it,” Pam nodded towards Chow. “I’m wearing my favourite pumps.”

“Pamela…”

She huffed while walking out of Fangtasia with the other vampire, which was when Eric turned to Jessica.

“I’ve summoned your maker, as well as Sookie. We all need to have a little chat about tonight.”

Jessica nodded. “Mr Northman, is - is Alice okay?”

“She’s sleeping. Perhaps if you hadn’t asked her to come with you, this wouldn’t have happened,” he told her a little tetchily.

“I didn’t ask her to come over tonight: Sookie asked her to keep an eye on me while she covered someone at work,” she admitted.

Eric’s eyes flashed with mischief - now  _ that _ was interesting. Sookie had asked a favour of Alice and look how that ended… his favourite redhead really had to stop going above and beyond for the waitress. Even if they were meant to be friends, babysitting vampires as a favour was a bit much to ask.

Soon enough, the pair from Bon Temps arrived with Bill looking surprised to see Jessica there, but he knew something was up. Eric shoved his hands in his pockets and started pacing up and down the bar, getting straight to it.

“Something happened tonight that shouldn’t have, and it involved your progeny, William,” he started off. “I wouldn’t be shocked if you felt something to do with Jessica, but… since Alice was was there, and I have a  _ very _ strong connection with her, I managed to get there quickly and diffuse the situation.”

Bill glared at Jessica, already not happy with what he was hearing. “What did you do?”

“She wanted to go see her family - literally, just to sit and watch. Except her baby vamp impulses took over and when I got there she looked about ready to kill her human father. It also came to my attention that it was Miss Stackhouse who was supposed to be spending time with Jessica tonight.”

“I’m sorry, but I had to-” Sookie stopped short. “Wait… where  _ is _ Alice?”

“Sleeping in my office,” Eric said. “We were driving back to Bon Temps to drop Jessica off and things got a little heated… she left the car and was attacked by something. Pam and Chow have gone to investigate, she’s healed up, but oh… how I  _ wish _ it had been you.” There was such a dark look in Eric’s eyes that Sookie gulped, afraid.

“Don’t threaten her,” Bill warned.

“I can do what I want right now. You have a baby vampire to keep under control, and now you and Miss Stackhouse owe me a favour. Which is perfect timing, because there’s something I need to inform you of when Alice is awake.”

Eric tilted his head to the side, listening out for his human as he could feel a now building sense of discomfort again.

“Excuse me.”

He wandered back to the office to find that Alice was getting distressed in her sleep. He shut the door and roused her, to which she nearly jumped out of her skin. She relaxed upon seeing it was Eric but her relief turned to anger as she remembered that she wasn’t happy with him. As she sat up properly on the sofa, Eric sat the opposite end of it, where they remained in silence for some time before addressing the situation at hand.

“I shouldn’t have said those things to you,” he said, coming to terms with his mistake. I still maintain that it was-”

“I know it was stupid. I didn’t - I didn’t really want to take her but I couldn’t help myself. You were right. I’m sorry, I put a lot of people in danger and-”

“Stop that,” he cut across her rambling, and her only response was to hug her knees to her chest. “I wasn’t going to say it was stupid, I - I was going to say it wasn’t a good idea, and that you weren’t to know how she was going to act.” He looked at her curiously. “Is this what you used to do? Take blame for something that was out of your control because  _ he _ was mad at you? It’s… disturbing.”

Again, she didn’t say anything which caused Eric to sigh and shuffle a bit closer to her.

“I think I’m beginning to understand even if you won’t tell me. I didn’t mean to sound like  _ him _ and scare you because of that. But… when those kind of arguments did happen, did you… did you ever fight back?”

Alice shook her head.

“You fought back against me tonight a bit so I guess I’m a little proud,” he said with a half smile on his face. That was enough to make Alice smile at him too, and they both knew that it was dealt with and in the past now. “How’s your back?” Eric quickly changed the subject.

“Getting there,” she said.

“Good. Come with me, there’s something I need to talk to you about with Bill and Sookie.”

“They’re here?”

“I summoned them - they owe me. They owe  _ you _ .”

Alice chuckled. “That sounds good to me, even if that does sound a little ominous.”

“Come on.”

He hopped off the sofa and waited for Alice to slowly follow after him back out into the main area of Fangtasia.

Sookie was relieved that Alice was okay and made to hug her, but Bill held her back; the other woman didn’t look one hundred percent enough to be accosted, not while her back was still healing. Then she noticed the look on Eric’s face, and realised now was not the time for celebrating.

“A sheriff in Area Nine has gone missing,” Eric started off dryly.

“And exactly where is Area Nine?” Sookie asked.

“It’s Dallas, Texas. It is an urgent situation, but we won’t be able to make all the arrangements until tomorrow night, and then leave the night after,” he carried on. “I believe that Miss Stackhouse here can use her…  _ talents _ to help find him.”

“You are  _ not _ going to Dallas,” Bill told Sookie firmly.

“Bill, please, let me make up my own mind about this.”

“I should tell you that I’m asking you as a courtesy.” Eric raised an eyebrow. “You owe Miss Carter, and therefore you owe me. Besides, didn’t you agree to help me whenever I asked?”

“Fine. I’ll go to Dallas,” Sookie said.

“Your expenses will be covered by me, and consider it a favour to Miss Carter.”

“I also want five thousand dollars,” she folded her arms, giving Eric a cocky look. “I’ll be missing a lot of work, and I need a new driveway.”

The blonde vampire glanced back at Alice who shrugged, not really sure what she could contribute to this conversation.

“Bill, your human is getting a little cocky…” Eric said as he turned back to Sookie.

“She will take ten thousand, and I will escort her,” he countered.

“Fine. Now take your baby and get back to Bon Temps before the sun comes up. We’ll finish this discussion tomorrow.”

Bill nodded curtly, and beckoned for Jessica to follow him and Sookie out of the bar. As they were leaving, Pam and Chow entered, with the former looking extremely unimpressed. Her shoes were absolute caked in mud.

“The area has been searched,” she stated, starting to head towards the back. “It smelt like shit, and something weird like an animal and a human - definitely more animal though.”

“Alice, can you remember what attacked you?” Eric asked.

“It looked like a bull… but it had the body of a woman,” she said, not even convincing herself of what she saw.

“Alright. Let’s get you home,” he told Alice. “Oh, and Pam? Those were great pumps.”

The vampire in question harrumphed as she disappeared to go clean herself up, and Eric and Alice finally made their way out of Fangtasia.

They got to the car and went through their usual routine of driving in silence back to Alice’s house. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat every now and then; the gashes in her back had been so deep she could feel them healing. It didn’t hurt, it simply felt weird.

“I guess I won’t see you for a few days then, if you’re going to Dallas,” Alice eventually said, breaking the silence.

“Alice… I was planning on bringing you. The sheriff of Area Nine is my maker. It’s Godric,” he admitted quietly. “When he’s found safe, I’d very much like for you to meet him. He’ll help you better than I ever could.”

His face was stony as he told her this, and she could feel his pain; Alice was more clever than to mention that, though. She didn’t want to aggravate Eric on what was obviously a sensitive topic for him.

“Oh,” was what she settled for. “Won’t it be dangerous? Looking for a missing vampire in the deep south?”

“Sookie and Bill will be doing the legwork. We’ll be doing the negotiations. I wouldn’t bring you to do that for me. I just - it would… ease me… knowing that you were close by.”

Alice considered his words for a moment. “I see.”

“And if you were to end up in some sticky situation… I would get you out, and you would be compensated. For the trouble.”

“How would I explain my going away to my students?”

“Say you’re ill.”

“It’s the beginning of July. That wouldn’t work. I never get ill in the summer,” Alice countered.

“They don’t know that.”

She sighed, a hint of frustration at the tail end of it. “Eric-”

“I could glamour them for you tomorrow night.”

“No - I won’t have that-”

“If you can’t come up with an excuse, that might be the only way.”

Alice merely folded her arms across her chest in a huff. Eric had to refrain from laughing at her puerile response, knowing it would be better than to annoy her further.

The drive carried on in silence after that, and their good night on Alice’s porch was wordless as well; Eric merely pecked her on the forehead, knowing that tonight there wasn’t much else for them to talk about.

Except, when she headed inside, he ended up saying one final comment to wrap it up.

“It’s strange how the colour red suits you… I thought it would have clashed with your hair.”


	20. Arrangements

Truth be told, Alice didn’t particularly want to go to Dallas.

She was comfortable in Shreveport, but she knew Eric wanted to go on the basis that if they managed to get Godric back, it would be good for her to meet him. Also, it meant she still had protection in the form of Eric anyway. It was all rather pointless to her, though, she wasn’t going to be doing anything to help with finding his maker.

Either way she went about her day as per normal, and headed to Fangtasia in the evening as promised. The bar was open as standard (in comparison to last night) so Alice had to make her way through drunk and desperate people before she reached the back office. She had the decency to knock and wait for Eric to allow her to enter; which happened rather quickly.

Why he had decided to take up wearing tracksuits with flip flops, Alice had no idea. Somehow he managed to pull it off, lounging in his desk chair with his feet on a stool and reading a book - a book that he appeared to be extremely disinterested in. She raised an eyebrow as she closed the door, her delicately flushed cheeks betraying the fact that despite the odd outfit choice, she still thought he was the most handsome person she had ever seen in her life. It definitely had something to do with his hair.

She thought back to the other night and a tight pit formed in her stomach - in a good way, of course. Her sudden bout of desire caused Eric’s lips to twitch upwards into a smirk and he put down the book. Now her cheeks were flaming as he gave her a once over while she stood there, clutching at the hem of her cardigan sleeves and trying not to be so embarrassed.

“See something you like?” he teased her. Alice spluttered slightly in response, and it only made him laugh a little. “How’s your back?”

“It’s healed up nicely,” she managed to respond in an even voice as she went to go make herself at home on the sofa. “There’s no sign of anything even attacking me in the first place.”

“As it should be,” Eric said, taking his feet off the stool and sitting more upright, facing Alice. “You’re early.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know if I want to go to Dallas, if I’m honest. I haven’t managed to come up with a good excuse for my job - honestly, Eric, I can meet Godric when you guys get him back-”

“No - no, please, come,” Eric insisted. “I can just - I can glamour whoever needs to be so they don’t give a shit you’re not there. Please do  _ not _ leave me alone with Bill and Sookie during this.” She wasn’t impressed with that, folding her arms while waiting for him to say something better. He sighed, leaning forward, beginning to look a little desperate. “I’ll pay you as well?”

Now that piqued her interest; Alice narrowed her eyes in scepticism, wondering why on earth Eric would offer her the same terms as Sookie. “You’re not trying to get me  _ involved _ in finding Godric, are you?”

He shook his head vicariously. “No, of course not! Consider it contingency if things don’t go to plan and you end up in some kind of danger. I just - I just want you there to meet him. Give him something to look forward to - I don’t know,” Eric waved off the excuse. She knew he was struggling to come up with a legitimate reason for her to go to Dallas with him, Bill, and Sookie, but she knew exactly why he wanted her there. She could feel it emitting from him, and made her heart skip a beat.

“There doesn’t have to be a reason, Eric,” Alice told him softly. “Protecting me or not, you ask me to come because  _ you _ want me to come. What am I going to do? Yell at you to eff off? So… Eric… would you like me to keep you company in Dallas because you’re worried about Godric?”

She said it straight up, and if Eric could go red in the face he certainly would have done so at that moment. It was rare for him to admit to worry - he didn’t even want to admit how worried he’d been about Alice the previous night. Either way, he nodded slowly in response, and she shot him a tiny smile.

“I know you like to have a tough exterior, but I wouldn’t tell anybody about your softer side,” Alice then muttered. “I know you hate admitting to having any feelings and that’s fine by me - as long as I know we’re friends, that’s all that matters to me.”

Eric eyed her curiously as he digested her words; she was extremely good at hitting the nail on the head with him, but then again she  _ did _ have a tendency to think about him a lot. Which couldn’t be helped - he thought about her a lot too. “You’re  _ way _ too nice to be living here,” he finally said. Why he chose those words in particular? He had no clue, but it was something he’d wanted to comment on for some time.

Alice shrugged. “What can I say? I was raised well.”

“Perhaps a little  _ too _ well,” he added. “You can’t be this polite when we go to Dallas. The vampires there are… something else. They’re cowboys, in all senses of the word.”

“I see… so this is why you’re planning on keeping me tucked away all safe and sound wherever we’re staying?”

“Pretty much, yes. There’s a few people we’ll have to show face to, but Sookie will be doing the legwork. We could use the time to explore your powers more. And fuck.”

“That would be a productive use of time,” Alice agreed, before realising what she had just agreed to. “The exploring my powers part of it - not necessarily the uh - sex part,” she coughed awkwardly as she corrected herself.

“Do you not want to fuck me?” he smirked.

“What? Of course I do!” she mentally smacked herself for her eagerness. “I mean - I do, but don’t think you think me learning about my extremely weird talent is a better use of time and more important?”

“Naturally. I was giving you an option for anything recreational.”

Alice took a deep breath and nodded. Her heart was pitter pattering away which meant she was actively avoiding looking Eric in the eye - there were times where she wished he didn’t know what she felt, and this was one of those times. His smugness right now was almost unbearable; one didn’t need to be connected to him to know that.

Luckily at that moment, there was another knock on the door. Eric called for Sookie and Bill to come in - there was nobody else it would be. The waitress joined Alice on the sofa while the other vampire sat at the desk opposite Eric.

“So, let’s get to it, Eric,” Bill started off. “When do we leave? How long will we be gone for?”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Well hello to you too, William. Miss Carter and I will be leaving later on, but you two will be leaving first thing tomorrow night.”

“Hold on - Alice is coming?!” Sookie questioned, raising her eyebrows.

“Since when do you still call me ‘Miss Carter?’” was what was on the redhead’s mind. Everyone turned to look at her, as if that was really the most pressing question right now.

“Since we’re currently doing business,” Eric elected to respond to her first.

“Sure, and I’ll go back to calling you ‘Mr Northman’ from now on, how would you like that?” she countered, scoffing as she did so.

“It’s a turn on,” he quipped.

The silence that hung in the room was something else. Alice went as red as her hair while Bill scrutinised her intensely.

“Anyway…  _ Alice _ is coming with us because she has business to attend to with Godric.”

“Can’t that be saved for when we get back?” Sookie asked.

“No. It’s important it happens sooner rather than later,” Eric said quickly. “But we shouldn’t be there for more than two or three days. I’ve already paid for the flights and we’ll be staying at the Hotel Carmilla.”

“And Sookie’s payment?” Bill pressed.

“ _ After _ we find Godric. She could get more or less depending on smoothly everything goes,” Eric replied with a hint of cockiness in his voice; if anything that was just to annoy Bill.

“Personally I find it a bit cheeky you’re asking for money when you actually owe me for last night,” Alice pointed out quietly.

“How was I meant to know what would happen?!” Sookie snapped. “I’m not  _ you. _ ”

“No, you’re not,” she agreed, if not spitefully. “Your  _ gift  _ doesn’t hurt your head or make you feel faint every now and then. Not to mention you weren’t almost killed last night.” Alice paused for a moment, sighing with her head in palm. “You know, me coming along is just a terrible idea. I’m hardly going to be of any use in case anything does go wrong.”

With that, Alice headed out of Eric’s office and went straight to the bar. If there was a time for a drink, it was definitely now. Luckily it was Pam behind the bar, which meant if she wanted to have a casual bitch she could do it to the right person.

“Gin and tonic, right?” Pam asked, setting about going to make it after Alice nodded. Soon enough, the drink was placed in front of her; except when the human took a sip, she pulled a face of disgust.

“Bit strong,” she commented.

“Yep. I take it you’re not going with my maker then?”

“Sookie annoyed me.”

“She does that. Get used to it.” Pam rolled her eyes after saying that, causing Alice to chuckle.

“She’s nice enough but she asked Eric for money for helping him, even though she was meant to owe me for last night - I don’t know, it’s an odd situation,” she frowned, taking a more daring gulp of her beverage. That wasn’t a good idea.

Pam eyed her curiously for a second, as if debating whether or not to say anything else. “Listen, as far as humans go you’re the least annoying one I’ve met. If anything I’m glad Eric chooses to keep your company over Sookie’s. She has her uses for him though, which is probably why he’s open to actually paying her. Think of it like that.”

“Right. So where does that leave me in regards to Eric?”

“He’d rather have your company than your  _ gift _ , so to speak. Just - do me a favour and actually go with him? Fuck knows he needs someone cute to spend time with. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Pam put on the fakest smile to grace the earth. “I have to go play nice to customers.”

As Pam walked off, Alice considered what she had said about Eric. If she had any doubts about him not wanting her to get into trouble, they were most certainly erased now. Pam was always honest, Alice had noticed in the few brief conversations she’d had with the vampire. Perhaps it ran in the family. Eric only picked the most worthy people to spend time with, after all.

Someone’s cold hand on the small of her back brought her back to reality. Alice turned to see it was only Eric, with Bill and Sookie following behind him; the only difference was that they were making their way out of Fangtasia and didn’t stop to speak to Alice at all.

“You really should stop changing your mind about this,” he said, sitting down on the bar stool next to where Alice was standing. Even then he was still a little taller than her. “If we’re still in the vein of honesty here, I believe Miss Stackhouse will be walking right into a trap.”

Alice downed the rest of her particularly strong drink before she could muster up a coherent answer. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, The Fellowship of the Sun reside in Dallas.”

“Ah. The main anti-vampire group. Of course. You think that’s where Godric is?”

“It’s the only logical explanation. Besides, we’ll know for sure once we’re there and Miss Stackhouse does what she must.”

“She’s not going to be happy when she realises…”

“I don’t care. All I want is for Godric to be safe and for you to meet him.” Eric’s face fell solemn for a moment, and he looked away from Alice. “Let’s face it, I’m no good at helping you.”

“You’re doing fine.”

“Fine isn’t good enough for me, and it shouldn’t be good enough for you. Come on, we need to leave. I have something to do before we head off and you have to decide what to do about your work.”

“Just… do whatever,” Alice said glumly as Eric got off the stool and started to head out with her at his heels. She ended up tossing the car keys to him, as the moment she stepped outside, the one (strong) drink hit her.

Eric couldn’t keep the amusement off his face as they got in the car. “Are you that much of a lightweight?”

“That drink was about seventy percent gin,” Alice defended herself as she buckled in. “And I’m sensible.”

“Clearly not that sensible if you drank what Pam gave you.” He started up the car and set off in the direction of her house.

Alice shrugged. “I’m sensible in that I’m not driving after having something so strong.”

Something else occurred to him about why the alcohol made have hit her so quickly. “Have you eaten this evening?”

“Not much,” she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Anxiety doesn’t leave you with much of an appetite sometimes.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… general, Eric. Nothing can stop it. My - my medication normally helps keep it under control.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Normally?”

“I forgot about it today,” she murmured. “The alarm went off for it and everything but I - I don’t know. I switched it off and forgot.” Alice was toying with the hem of her dress as she had a tendency to whenever a topic of conversation made her feel uneasy.

“I see.” Eric had no fucking clue how to go about this. It was a very  _ human _ subject, and not one he was good at dealing with. Except, of course, he was going to try. If he was going to keep Alice’s company, he had to at least acknowledge and try to understand this particular part of her. “Is there… anything I can do?”

The question was phrased so tentatively that they both ended up side eyeing each other oddly. Eric swallowed, realising that this was not a question he was accustomed to asking. Alice was just as stunned about it as he was.

“Are you trying to be nice?”

“Uh, well-”

“And understanding?”

“I - uh - maybe.” Eric cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, we’re going to be sharing a room for a few days, I figured I might as well ask.” He hoped that covered him well enough.

“...Right.”

“But also we see each other a lot, and I have had to…  _ help... _ when you’re…  _ incapacitated, _ ” he phrased it delicately enough.

Alice was silent for a moment.

“Do you think you could be my sentient alarm clock in Dallas? Or at least… check that I’ve had my medication.”

“Sure.”

“Also Eric?”

“Yes?”

“You’re a bit rubbish at this, but thank you for trying,” Alice told him, struggling to keep the smirk off her face. The fact she was lightly teasing him about it made him feel a little better about it all as well.

After ten more quiet minutes, he pulled into her driveway but didn’t get out the car when she did. Alice wandered round to the driver’s side and Eric rolled down the window.

“I have to go sort something out, and get my things too. Pack up, and I’ll be back in about half an hour,” he told her.

“Seriously? You’re borrowing my car and not even asking?”

A half smile creeped up on the corners of his lips. “Alice, my dear, sweet one,” Eric started off in a rather dramatic English accent, bowing his head ever so slightly. “Please may I borrow your car for the next hour?”

She couldn’t help but giggle and grin at that. “Of course you may,” she then responded with a little curtsy. Eric let out a small chuckle himself.

“God, nobody’s curtseyed at me in a long time,” he remarked in his normal voice again.

“As if people have had to curtsey to you,” she scoffed.

A strange look crossed his face, something that settled nicely between nostalgia and pain. “People still curtsey and bow to royalty, don’t they?”

Alice’s brow knotted gently as she tried to figure out what he was getting at. “ _ No… _ you? Really? You were a king?”

“A Viking prince, to be exact,” he told her. “But not anymore.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re mine.”

He shook his head - if not a little fondly - at Alice. She had looked so sheepish as she said that, and it was rather endearing. “How so?”

She shrugged and started backing towards her house. “Prince Charming knows how to sweep a girl off her feet. I’ll see you in half an hour.”

Alice then turned and ran into her house after that, leaving Eric to ponder over her words. He was charming and attractive, he’d readily admit that, but to be likened to a prince in a fairy tale? That was something else entirely, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.


	21. Dallas

The journey to Dallas was entertaining, to the say the least, and Alice got to witness Eric’s wealth in all its glory what with travelling in a private plane and all. It was nice though, it meant that they got there safely and in one piece without having to think about it. She was able to have a snooze on the plane.

It was probably around two or three in the morning when they arrived at the Hotel Carmilla, and Alice couldn’t even appreciate the pun due to her nearly dropping back off in the taxi. Eric had to support the little woman under the elbow with one hand while carrying both their duffle bags with the other as they entered the hotel; Alice was rather tired and unsteady on her feet.

What did wake her up was their room: it was something else entirely.

Decorated in shades of black and grey, with sleek black furniture (with the odd pop of a random white armchair), the fake fireplace and flat screen television, Alice was much more impressed. Especially when she saw the large double bed on the other side of the suite. She practically ran to it and lay face down on it, kicking her shoes off i the process.  _ God, _ it was the softest thing she’d ever lay on.

“Someone’s tired,” Eric commented as he shut the door with a click. He left their bags by it and came to sit on the edge of the bed by Alice’s feet.

“It’s past my bedtime,” she mumbled, now rolling onto her back so she could at least see Eric in her peripheral vision. “Normally I only ever wake up at this time when I’ve had a bad dream.”

Eric made a “Hmm” noise as he took his shoes and jacket off, tossing the latter onto the armchair in the other half of the suite. He declined on his side next to Alice, propping himself up on his elbow.

“We still have some time until sunrise.”

“I know. I have questions though,” she told him, mirroring his position. “Where did you go with my car?”

“Well, I went and packed, left the car at mine, and flew about the area glamouring your students and their families. Oh, I also went to feed Lafayette my blood. I need to keep an eye on him,” he added casually at the end.

“Lafayette won’t do anything, he’s terrified of you,” she pointed out. ”Which isn’t good.”

He sighed. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Truth be told, Alice knew that he was right on that account. If she hadn’t walked into Fangtasia when she did, who knows what could have happened? If Eric was capable of ripping a man to pieces because of a piece of silver, what else could he do? The thoughts made her stomach churn a little, and it showed on her face.

“Don’t hurt him - or anyone I know,” Alice eventually said, settling for that weak response over anything else.

“You’ve already said so. Or was the sex so good the other night you forgot?” He raised an eyebrow at her, and her cheeks went pink. Alice managed to snap herself out of pretty quickly when she remembered how that night ended.

“Actually… about that…” She moved into a sitting position on her knees. “What do we do? About the feelings thing? Is there a way to… shut it off? From my end, at least. I already have trouble keeping my own emotions in check, I don’t know if having yours to listen to will help.”

Now it was Eric’s turn to mirror how she was sitting. It was only fair to actually make himself equal to her in this case.

“I don’t know,” he told her. “You can just about block out visions, would you be ready to try switching me off?”

Alice’s shoulders sank ever so slightly, and she chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Hmm. Maybe it’s a bad idea to try.”

“Godric would know,” Eric reassured her. “We can talk about this with him, if you’d like?”

She nodded. “Yes please. That would be nice.”

“Anything else?”

“What now?”

Eric was silent, and a moment later a wave of desire hit Alice in the chest and she ended up collapsing face first onto his thighs. “Stop - you’ve got to stop doing that,” she told him, trying to catch her breath. Even though this was the second time his emotions had overcome her like that, there was no way she could see herself getting used to it.

He started to play with her hair as she rested her head in his lap, and sighed in content at how lovely it felt. Her breathing evened out and eventually she was able to support her own body again, but not before she straddled him and draped her arms over his shoulders.

Eric smirked at her, before balling her hair up in his hand bringing her to kiss him. As always she enjoyed the coolness of his skin; Alice had a tendency to fluster and blush and flush during sexual situations, so his cold body temperature was always soothing to her. She enjoyed the way she was able to melt against his lips entirely but not turn to liquid entirely. Nevertheless, she eased her way closer to his body ever so slowly as the kiss grew deeper.

Alice’s cardigan was slipping off her shoulders so she removed the item of clothing entirely, never taking her lips away from Eric’s - she’d  _ whine _ if she had to. He tasted too good for her to stop kissing him. Cold fingers trailed softly down the back of her neck, her shoulders, and down her arms; goosebumps were left in the wake of his touch.

Alice made the move to started taking off his tank top, and it was unfortunate that they had to break apart from him to remove it entirely. Although… when he was shirtless before her, Alice had to stop a moment and admire his physique. Eric was something else entirely, and she thought his strength was strange. It was alien to her, to be that powerful. It was the exact opposite of everything she was.

“What’s wrong?”

She caught herself, and looked anywhere but him. “I wish I were as strong as you.”

“Perhaps you can be - perhaps you  _ are _ , and you just don’t know it yet,” he told her softly, using the tip of his finger to tilt her head to look at him. Big green doe eyes met his icy blue ones; she was always so afraid, even if she wasn’t aware of it. Her eyes told him everything.

Alice blinked a few times, trying to ground herself back to the current situation, and kissed Eric softly. She didn’t want to talk about it.

The moment she placed her hands on his chest, the worst happened.

_ “Call me when she wears the green coat.” _

_ “Why? What does that mean?” _

_ “It means she’s ready.” _

Alice took her hands off of him, tears filling her eyes as she stared at them. “I’m - I’m sorry. I’m not concentrating properly.”

Wordlessly, Eric took hold of them carefully and pressed his lips to each palm. She was taken aback by the gesture, the fact he didn’t mind she wasn’t concentrating. “Strange. I thought it only happened when you touched someone else’s hand.” He was intrigued by it, but didn’t keep pressing on the matter. Instead, he dropped them and moved his arm to her back where he unzipped her dress and pulled it over her head.

After that, they got back to it. Soon enough they were both completely naked with Eric atop Alice as she lay on the bed. It was all a strange mix between casual fucking and something akin to romantic love making, all because they had the problem of being so closely connected by blood that it couldn’t be helped. She was someone to be careful with anyway.

So, oddly, Eric was gentle as he fucked her. He didn’t show off trying to be quick like a vampire would usually do in this instance, he didn’t bite her despite his fangs being down - she had no interest in that tonight anyway - and he enjoyed drinking in how it was making her feel.

Meanwhile, Alice was partially overwhelmed by Eric’s emotions at this current point and it only served to make her night better. When she was close to finishing, she gripped his waist with her thighs just that bit tighter and clutched at the sheets. The vampire above her leaned down to kiss her more fiercely, drowning out her little cries of pleasure so that he could be as close to her as possible when it was his turn too.

They practically fed off of each other’s feelings and energy and came together - something which should have been an absolute rarity to occur, but they were able to work for it. Eric fell down to lazily rest his head on Alice’s chest after he slipped out of her, and they lay together in silence as they drowned in each other’s now hazy emotions.

If she could concentrate, Alice would have played with his hair; this was unfortunately not the case. So instead, she simply enjoyed him resting on her because he didn’t feel too heavy, and that was how she knew he was still supporting himself on his elbow ever so slightly so as not to crush her.

Eventually Eric rolled off of her and leaned up on his side as he had done so earlier, taking in her flushed and messy appearance. He hadn’t seen her without clothes on until tonight, and all it did was make him painfully aware of how human she was; of how broken she was. Her ribs and hip bones were a tad more prominent than they should had been, and she had a few scars here and there.

“How did you get that?” he asked, softly prodding a mark of white skin near her belly button.

“I had my appendix out when I was fifteen,” she replied, glancing at him and going redder in the face. “Stop looking at me.”

“Why?”

“I feel like you’re going to ask questions about me again. I’ve had surgery and I’ve had scrapes and I’ve had… shoves,” she said carefully, sitting up and hugging her legs to her chest. “And I told you earlier, I’m not left with much of an appetite and  _ yes _ that started when the ex-boyfriend got particularly awful. Does that answer anything you might have wanted to know?”

He nodded silently before getting off the bed. As he walked to their bags, Alice tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. Eric stopped and turned back to look her, and she went even redder than he thought was possible. He smirked at her.

“See something you like?”

“Sorry…”

“Don’t apologise,” he crouched down by her bag and rifled about before finding her pyjamas and tossing them to her. “I’ve definitely got my eye on something.”

Alice shook her head as she dressed for bed, getting under the sheets as soon as she was ready. Eric sauntered back in a pair of joggers before sliding in next to her.

“Why the room with one bed?” she then asked.

“I wanted to annoy you and it backfired,” he admitted.

“Why?”

Eric shrugged. “I thought it would make things funnier while here.”

“Are you trying to be playful? Friendly? All of that stuff that’s nice and you claim not to be?” she raised an eyebrow at him. “Including that rather tender sex we just had?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, his brow knotting and a deep frustration setting in - there was so much he didn’t want to admit to her right now, because he didn’t want to particularly talk about it. “I don’t - I don’t wanna hurt you, and I don’t want you to get hurt here. I’m not usually this nice but you won’t tell me the full story what happened to you so all I can do is tread on eggshells.”

“Eric…” Alice groaned. “You’re not treading on eggshells. Trust me. If anything I feel like I’m treading on eggshells around you.”

He looked up at her and frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“You’re a vampire, and all I know how to do around anyone that takes interest in me now is tread carefully,” she murmured, going to curl up on her side. Eric sighed.

“I may be over a thousand years old and have most people doing that, but you don’t have to. You’re protected by me. You could prod me with silver and the most I’d do is argue with you about it.”

“Just like after the Jessica incident the other night.”

“Except with less assumptions,” he pointed out, the fact that he’d stepped over a line the other night still serving to make his skin crawl - Eric  _ really _ didn’t want to be likened to her ex ever again. “Go to sleep. You need it. The next few nights are going to be long.”

Alice didn’t say anything except roll over so that she was facing away from Eric as he still remained sitting upright in bed. He waited for her breathing to even out before he himself could relax knowing that she was actually asleep.

Carefully, he stroked her hair as she slept, letting all his previous thoughts filter back into his mind - what was he doing? They were far too close now, that much was obvious. He hated the idea of being considered monogamous with Alice - he was no Bill Compton, after all. He couldn’t say that to her though, it wouldn’t particularly go down well. Whatever happened would happen, wouldn’t it?

He could feel her growing anxiety in her sleep, and calmed her through their bond. He thought about the sex they’d just had and realised it had been one of the more pleasant experiences in his long life - perhaps it was because they were tuned into each other. That was certainly something he still wasn’t sure how he felt about, but Eric knew it would have its uses.

For now, all he could do was hope that Alice had a peaceful slumber; a hope that wasn’t going to be granted too soon. While he sat there in the quiet of the room until dawn came, her small cries told him that even sleep her mind was never going to leave her be. All he could do was try to keep calming her, and even that wasn’t helping.

Eventually, Eric curled up behind her and put an arm around her waist. He held Alice close, and in the last half an hour before the sun rose, she didn’t make a single sound in her sleep and he could feel her emotions shut off from him entirely as she drifted off to nicer dreams.

He drifted off not soon after.


	22. Nest

As far as a now messed up sleeping schedule could go, Alice was impressed by the fact she was awake before midday. Eric was dead to the world with his arm draped over her waist, and she smiled when she realised that. It was tricky to move his arm off of her - he was pretty much locked in place - but she managed to escape and go for a shower.

She changed into a pastel pink dress and threw her usual oversized cardigan on over the top of it. After slipping on a pair of shoes, she decided to go explore; maybe get some food at the hotel first and take a wander around the area. It was day time, meaning she was safe from anything supernatural.

Alice picked up her small bag, chucking her purse, phone and room key into before making her way out. She felt nervous going off on her own without Eric in a city she didn’t know, probably because she wondered if he’d be annoyed with her for it. He probably wouldn’t, and she was just overthinking it. He might have some kind of retrospective concern, but… it was day time. Surely Eric wouldn’t expect her to remain cooped up all day? A sudden thought of her ex flashed through her mind about whenever she went off on her, and Alice shuddered.

So lost in her own thoughts that she wasn’t paying attention to who came out of the lift after she called it to her floor. She bumped into a bell boy and they both kept muttering apologies at each other as Alice stepped into the lift and he stepped out.

He glanced back at her as he wandered down the corridor, and that was when the itching feeling in her mind started. Alice hissed a little, and ran back out the lift before the doors could close, heading after the bell boy.

“Hey!” she called after him. His pace quickened and she was running after him, grabbing his arm when she got close enough. He looked dejected when he turned to face her. “I know what you can do,” Alice whispered, and he groaned as he shrugged out of her grip.

“How? You’re not even a vampire but I can’t-” he stopped himself.

“Hear my thoughts?”

He grimaced, clearly wishing that Alice hadn’t said the words out loud.

“Don’t try and dig around inside my head, because you’ll expose me,” she said quietly, a pleading look in her eyes. “It’s uncomfortable, and I’m not from around here. I don’t want any other vampires knowing what I can do.”

“I’m not even gonna ask, as long as I know you won’t say a word to  _ anyone _ . This is the only place I can get quiet,” he replied. Alice nodded, and the look of relief that appeared on his face mirrored how she felt. “I won’t try again.”

“Thank you,” she said, and went back towards the lift.

A strange coincidence, but it made sense that someone like Sookie would work in a place where there were no other thoughts to intrude into their heads. Alice wondered how he would react if he ever crossed paths with the waitress when she finally arrived. Although going by how he acted when Alice realised something was up with him, maybe meeting Sookie would be a terrible idea.

Either way, Alice tried to shove those thoughts out of her brain when the lift reached the ground floor and she wandered to the bar/restaurant in the hotel. Considering how late she slept, she missed breakfast but lunch was as good as anything right now.

She ate pretty quickly, thankful that this was all being paid for by Eric even though she would have been perfectly fine sorting out “human stuff” on her own. After that she went for a wander.

Alice didn’t want to stray too far from the hotel, and merely walked around the nearby couple of blocks. If there was one thing she noticed, it was that the people weren’t like the ones in Shreveport or Bon Temps - she was catcalled a couple of times, and it only made her wrap her cardigan tight around her despite the heat. Either way, she refused to go without it and stuck to the shade under buildings.

She snapped a few photos and posted them to Instagram - her account was private - and left them without a caption and without a location. Her friends and family could make guesses about where she was in the world, but after several months of inactivity on any form of social media, it was probably a welcome relief for some to see her actually post something.

Eventually she came to rest at a bench in the sun, relenting and taking off her cardigan. Perhaps it was far too hot to be wearing it, and it’s not like she needed to wear it anymore anyway. There was nothing to hide on her arms, although…

Alice turned on the front facing camera on her phone. Okay, no fang marks left on her neck from Eric - probably because she’d had his blood so soon after they healed up. Good. She indulged herself and took a selfie, carefully angled away from the sun so she wasn’t squinting. God, it was hard to smile for a camera nowadays, but when Alice looked back at the photo she kind of liked it. Sure, her face and collarbones still looked a little on the bony side, but it wasn’t in an alarming way.

She decided to post it another day.

It was odd for her to have a sense of freedom to roam; Alice had no need to worry about anyone’s reaction for spending time by herself. As long as she was careful in a city didn’t know, it would be fine. Not to mention she wouldn’t spend all day out and about, and would be back before Eric woke up.

Alice then spied a Starbucks, and suddenly craving an iced coffee, headed over to it. She realised that it was a terrible idea to drink coffee if she had anxiety, but she was only going to buy a small one and drink it slowly while sitting in the air conditioned coffee shop.

While she was sitting at a window table, scrolling mindlessly through various social media feeds with her earphones in and listening to music - such a millennial - it only occurred to her in that moment that she had been out in the sun all day without sun screen. Too late now. Regardless, she was prone to burning and mentally cursed at herself, but she hadn’t been out in the sun that long. Plus, she’d been sticking to the shade as much as possible.

After spending an hour or so in the coffee shop, Alice decided to head back to the hotel, sipping in and out of various shops along the way. That killed another hour and a half of time.

It was only half past four by the time she got back, and she curled up on the sofa under her cardigan in the hotel room, sleepy from the heat. It were as if she had blinked and the next thing she knew was Eric’s nose brushing gently along her neck.

Alice tensed up, and he moved back away from her.

“You smell like the sun,” he said quietly, while she tried to comprehend her surroundings after a rather long nap. She sat up to find Eric was fully dressed (sans leather jacket) and sitting on the coffee table opposite her. She then pulled her cardigan back on.

“I went for a wander,” she said.

“I know. Your content feelings woke me during the day, and when I realised you weren’t there I figured you’d gone exploring.”

“You’re not… you’re not angry, are you?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Does it feel like I’m angry?”

“Uhm - well, no.”

“Then there is your answer,” he said. “I don’t care that you decided to be human. As long as you’re careful, then I have no cause to worry, do I?”

“I got catcalled.”

“Vampires will do far worse than that,” Eric rolled his eyes as he stood up, going to put on his jacket.

Alice gripped the hem of her cardigan tight. “And humans don’t?” she asked him through gritted teeth, breathing deeply.

Eric eyed her curiously for a moment before crouching and reaching into her duffle bag. A few moments later, he tossed a box at her - her medication. He wordlessly headed to the bathroom and came back with a glass of water.

“You should probably take two,” he told her with a wry smile as he handed her the water. “The vampires we’re going to meet tonight are… interesting. Isabel is nice enough, but Stan… he’ll get one whiff of you and want to know more.” Eric paused a moment. “My point is that you shouldn’t cry in front of him.”

Alice sighed and popped two of the small pills, gulping down the water. She set the glass down on the table when she was done. “Thanks for that.”

“Bill and Sookie arrived while you were sleeping, by the way. They left the hotel a few minutes before you woke up.”

She nodded silently, her thoughts drifting back to earlier on in the day. She then reached for her phone and unlocked it, tossing it to Eric. “I got some pictures earlier. Nothing fancy, but it was nice to do whatever I wanted without having to worry. I thought I’d share.” Alice shrugged as Eric flicked through them, a small smile coming to his face. There was a pang of sadness from him too, but it went away pretty quickly.

Then his smile turned into a smirk and he chucked the phone back to her. “Millennial.”

Alice rolled her eyes when she saw he’d stopped on the picture of her.

“A very pretty millennial, though,” Eric carried on.

“Maybe lead with that next time,” Alice grinned at him - like an actual, proper grin. Those were becoming less rare and more regular by the week.

“Come on,” Eric gestured at her to get up. “We should go.”

She slipped on her shoes and stood up, with Eric holding the door open for her as they left. When they reached the lift, the vampire pulled something out of his pocket and passed it to Alice. She frowned as she looked down at the pair of black leather, fingerless gloves, a little confused.

“Umm…?”

“In case you’re so polite you end up shaking Stan’s hand,” he said. “You still struggle with blocking, don’t you?

“Yes…” she mumbled as she pulled the gloves on. They looked odd with her outfit combination, but it would do for now. “How are we getting to… wherever it is we’re going?”

The lift dinged and the pair got in, Eric smirking at her.

“That’s a surprise.”

“A good or bad one?”

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“Not particularly, no…” Alice paused. “Hold on - are we - are we  _ flying _ ?”

Eric grinned at her. “Very good, Miss Carter. Just remember to hold on tight…”

They reached the ground floor and walked out of the hotel in silence. Eric led her some ways away from the building itself so as not to attract a lot of attention. Then in one quick movement, he was holding her bridal style and had leapt into the air. Alice gave a startled squeak and looped her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life as they sped through the sky, over the twinkling lights of Dallas at night.

She wasn’t lying when she said she wasn’t afraid of heights, but it had caught her off guard and she hid her face in Eric’s chest for a few minutes. When Alice felt like she could look again; she did. She peeked down at the city and was in awe of its beauty. Anything could look picturesque and perfect if you looked at it from a distance; it gave the illusion of safety and wonder, that something so beautiful couldn’t hide anything awful in it.

Just as soon as Alice was getting used to the feeling of being in the sky, it was over. They landed on a quiet street at the end of the driveway of a rather modern, sleek house with plenty of glass windows and some wooden panelling - the latter was clearly for show.

Eric set Alice down on her own two feet, where she stumbled for a moment. He gripped her by the elbow, amused by her disorientation as she tried to neaten her hair as well. Once she was steady and he had fixed his hair too, he led her towards the house.

“Looks like we got before Sookie and Bill,” Alice remarked.

“Well, I think they did drive…” Eric replied. “Flying is  _ much _ more efficient.”

“Next time give me a little bit more warning before doing that…”

“Noted.”

He knocked on the front door when they got there. A few moments later, a rather fashionable woman answered. She smiled, but it wasn’t warm and nor was it cold; it was done more out of social expectation.

“Eric. Good to see you,” she said; her voice was like a melody to Alice’s ears, taking into account her Spanish accent.

“Isabel,” Eric bowed his head ever so slightly.

“Is this the telepath?”

“No, this is my… uh...” Eric turned to Alice, who raised an expectant eyebrow at him. “Person?”

“Oh Christ,” Alice murmured, before giving her attention to Isabel. “I’m Alice, a  _ friend _ of Eric’s. He’s allergic to that word.”

Isabel let out a laugh. “He is indeed. I’m surprised he even has a friend who appears so lovely. Please come in, the both of you. Stan will join us shortly.”

“Bill and Sookie will be joining us soon, too,” Eric said, and they followed the vampire inside.

* * *

Alice really,  _ really _ disliked Stan. He was over the top, annoying, brash, and most of all - he was obsessively talking about how good she smelt. Eric was pacing, irate enough with the other vampire without that comment being thrown into the mix over and over again; either way, he kept his cool.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Eric hired fucking humans?” Stan growled at one point. Aice stared down at the floor in silence, her fists clenched together. So it was going to go like  _ that. _

“Excuse me?” Sookie was not impressed.

“Respect them!” said Bill.

“Thank you.”

“Stan, you’ve been off on your own for days - I  _ couldn’t _ tell you,” Isabel said, folding her arms as she did so.

“Over the past few days I’ve been thinking that Godric may have been taken by the Fellowship of the Sun,” Eric said through gritted teeth. “Now, are you certain that he was?”

At the same time Stan said “yes,” Isabel denied it.

“They’re the only ones with the organisation and manpower,” Stan continued, beginning to obviously get a little bored.

“They’re amateurs - it doesn’t make any sense!” the female protested “Godric is over  _ two thousand years old _ .”

“Old don’t make you smart.”

“Besides, there’s no proof.”

Alice couldn’t take it anymore and groaned loudly from the sofa, looking up at the two bickering vampires tiredly. Her noise of protest even made Eric stop in his tracks, while Bill and Sookie were surprised that she was even annoyed in the first place.

“Without meaning to sound rude, but you two arguing isn’t going to help Godric,” she pointed out. “I have no use to help you in getting him back-”

“Then why are you here?” Stan scowled at her.

“I have business with Godric - which has absolutely nothing to do with you, so don’t ask.”

A flush of pride hit her in the chest, and it made her her sit upright as she placed a hand over it. Alice took a deep breath, doing her best not to look over at Eric.

“Alice, are you alright?” Sookie was concerned by the sudden action.

“I’m fine,” Alice said, standing up. “I’m going for some air - but please, just listen to what Sookie has to say. Maybe don’t insult her either, and actually stop quarrelling because every second you do that is a second  _ wasted _ in finding Godric.”

With that, Alice took her leave through one of the doors in the living room and out into the garden. She wandered far enough away from the house that she wouldn’t have to listen to them all (most likely) continue to argue about the current situation and what to do about it. Why Eric had even brought her along tonight, she had no clue. She wished that she had remained back at the hotel, left in peace to sleep. Maybe even read.

Alice lay back on the grass and enjoyed the cool night air as it drifted over her face and bare legs, serving to make her feel a little sleepy; if anything that was a good thing, because the vampires had been getting on her nerves. The quiet was welcome to her, and she didn’t have to worry about Stan leering at her.

Eventually someone came to get her, and that someone was - oddly enough - Sookie.

“Eric threw a vase against the wall,” the other woman said as she sat next to Alice, who leaned up on her elbows.

“I’m surprised it wasn’t against Stan,” Alice said. “Although that would have been counterproductive.”

“You got that right,” Sookie chuckled, before getting a little more serious. “Hey, I’m sorry about getting you into that trouble the other night. I didn’t-”

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied softly. “You weren’t to know and neither was I.”

“Jessica actually came with us here - I think she’d like to apologise to you as well.”

Alice sighed. “There’s no need. It’s done with, and it could have been a lot worse. Let’s just - let’s just focus on this, okay?”

“Gotcha. Let’s go back in - Eric was getting… I don’t know. Is the word worried okay to use here?”

Alice rolled her eyes as they got up and started to walk back towards the house. “Probably, but he’d hate it if you said that to his face.”

“God. He really hates admitting his feelings, doesn’t he?”

“Oh, definitely - it took him over a month to admit we were friends.”

When they entered the house again, Alice could see the restraint on Eric’s face as he tried his best not to immediately come over to her. Stan was nowhere to be seen, while Isabel clearly looked put out as she sat the dining table behind the sofas.

Sookie went back over to Bill, and Alice made the executive decision to go over to Eric. He visibly relaxed, and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder.

“What’s the plan?” she asked him quietly.

“Sookie’s going to infiltrate the Fellowship with Isabel’s human, Hugo,” he told her.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“No,” he shook his head, “not really.”

“Okay… can we go, now? If you’ve all managed to sort it?”

“Sure.”

Obviously all the vampires in the room overheard their small exchange, and merely waved at the pair as they left.

“Are you alright?” Eric asked when they were far enough away from the house and slowed to a stop before they took flight.

“Just… I was being serious last night when I said you needed to stop overwhelming me with your feelings…” Alice muttered. “Especially in that kind of situation with Stan and Isabel.”

“It’s a habit - I’ll try and a break it,” he assured her. “And if you’re still worried about Stan - don’t be. I talked him down a bit in regards to you.”

She nodded and stepped closer to him, getting on tiptoes to lock her arms around his neck. Eric merely wrapped an arm around her waist tightly this time as they sped off into the night sky once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm basically crossposting this on ffn as well - except since I've been using ffn way longer, I'm a couple of chapters ahead which is why updates get posted here so quickly because I always forget to post the same time as I do on ffn. I always forget ao3 exists and I'm v sorry about that loves! Hope you're all continuing to enjoy this regardless of me being a ditz.


	23. Lorena

“You bit back at Stan,” Eric remarked later that night.

Alice shrugged uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t say that. It was more of… a reminder about what we were here for.”

He eyed her curiously. “Something tells me you were a  _ lot _ more confident.”

“Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t - I had three older siblings, make your own conclusions.”

“You used to dance,” he pointed out as he came to sit next to her on the sofa. “That requires confidence.”

Alice sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. “Okay, so what? I did things I enjoyed… it doesn’t have to mean I’m confident. Besides - it’s more of a case that I was more… vocal. Particularly about the welfare of others.”

“What happened?” he asked softly.

“Michael happened.”

“Am I allowed to know the details?”

She sat in consideration for a moment. “Not tonight, but you have to buy me a drink when I do eventually decide to open up. You’re not the only one who prefers to stay closed off, Eric,” she added softly, before her eyes widened in realisation of what she said. “Sorry - sorry, that was… I crossed a line there, didn’t I?”

Eric was now staring at Alice with a mildly calculating gaze. His eyes had narrowed ever so slightly, more out of uncertainty and curiosity as he realised that everything she had ever told him contained a careful decision behind it. Anything else that slipped out would instantly be followed up by an apology, as if every single word that came out of her mouth required such thought behind it.

He shook his head and shuffled closer to her on the sofa. Alice looked at him with eyes that were size of saucepans at this point they had appeared to become so big and round. “If it had been anyone else I would say yes, but… you’re right. Except you and I are both closed off for  _ very _ different reasons.”

“You’re a vampire - you don’t see much point in sharing your feelings if you’re going to outlive someone,” Alice said, tears in her eyes. “So why let me see that side of you?”

Eric winced when he saw the first tear drop. “Please don’t do that - crying - not when you’re sad, at least. I can just about wrap my head around it when you’re… having… one of your moments?” He brushed it off as if to say that didn’t matter. “I’ve already said before that you’re different, Alice, you’re a human that understands me. That’s extremely rare. Regardless of outliving you, at least I was friends with you.”

She let out a light laugh. “At least I was friends with you. You’ll visit me when I’m old, won’t you?”

“Sure. And if you’re widowed, I could be of service - providing you don’t look like a prune, of course,” Eric shot Alice a teasing smile and she properly cracked up for a few moments, throwing her head back as she did so. Laughing looked lovely on her, Eric couldn’t help but notice. Her cheeks became rosy apples as she did so.

“Wow, you’re really going to value my looks over me as a person when I’m in my sixties, eh?” Alice eventually said. “At least I know I’d get good sex when I’m old, though.”

“I’m sorry -  _ good? _ ” Eric’s eyebrows shot into his hairline and she playfully whacked him on the elbow. His smile at her became more gentle. “It’s… refreshing to see you like this. Actually enjoying yourself.”

Alice went red. “Well… I’m in good company, aren’t I? It’s… nice. Today has been nice. So nice that I’m trying not to think about what the next couple of days might entail…”

The conversation was well and truly going up and down; now they were back to the true matter at hand here, the elephant in the room. She sighed and her grip around her knees tightened ever so slightly.

“You’ll be fine,” he said to her. “You don’t need to go within ten feet of that place; you’re safe in this room.”  _ You’re safe with me, _ was what Eric wanted to say, but he didn’t want to take the tone back to that deep place it had been a minute ago. That would have been too much for one night.

Either way, she trusted him enough to believe him on that; he meant it, that she would be safe in the hotel, but it was good to know that she thought so too. Alice’s shoulders sank a little as she relaxed, and they sat in silence for some time just inches apart from each other. He made no move to turn it into anything other than what it was at that current moment: two friends who had just had an honest conversation with each other.

It didn’t need to be anything more than that.

Eventually, Alice came to curl up with her head in his lap. Eric was a little surprised by her position there, but he gently rested a hand on her arm and enjoyed the softness of her cardigan. No wonder that thing was practically glued to her twentyfour-seven.

“Comfy?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Is there nothing else you want to do tonight?”

Before Alice could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Eric’s ears pricked up and he frowned as Alice sat back up again. He stepped over to the door, and when the little woman made to follow, he held out his hand to signal to her to stay where she was.

He opened it, and in waltzed a rather glamorous looking woman with a long flowing dress and well styled shoulder length hair.

“Lorena? What are you doing here?” He closed the door with a click.

“I think we both know what I’m doing here,” she grinned at him devilishly before turning her attention to Alice on the sofa. “My, my, who do we have here?”

“None of your business,” Eric hissed, his fangs clicking down. The sound made Alice jolt, but she remained calm; she knew that he was trying to establish power over Lorena. The vampire had intruded on him, after all. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I heard Bill is monogamous and I thought it was funny so I  _ had _ to come see for myself. Even better to see you are too,” Lorena replied, sauntering over to the armchair and making herself right at home in it.

“How did you even find out he was here?”

“The Queen talks too much, and the King likes to let me know about my William.”

Alice glanced between the two vampires, trying to understand what that even meant. That reaction made Lorena laugh something witchy and cackly - it unsettled her greatly.

“Have you not told her how vampires work?”

“Alice has had no need to know. My business with her is  _ my _ business - do not concern yourself with it, Lorena. If you want to go after Bill Compton then do it. I have no desire to be part of your stupid games,” Eric spat at her as he came to tower over her.

“Alice…” Lorena rolled the name off her tongue. “Such a pretty name. Do you know what it means?” she directed the question at the redhead.

“No,” she said.

“It means noble and kind. Are you either of those things?”

“I try.”

“Lorena - get out,” Eric told her. “Go piss off Bill if you’d like, it might give him more of a personality.”

The female vampire rolled her eyes and rose to leave; she knew that Eric was much older than her and therefore knew it was wise to listen to him. She slammed the door on her way out, which didn’t shock either of the occupants of the room.

Eric straightened up and retracted his fangs, his hands on the back of the armchair as he leaned hunched over it. He seemed… put out, for want of a better explanation, so Alice went over to him and stood on the seat so that she was taller than him. He glanced up at her and straightened up.

“Are you going to tell me what that was about now or are you going to explain later?” she asked him quietly.

“Later,” he sighed. “It’s - it’s irrelevant, really, if it’s to do with Bill, although it  _ is _ an interesting story.”

“Okay,” Alice paused for a moment, and asked something that she never thought she would. “Can you… can you show me your fangs again? Please?”

He eyed her oddly but dropped them once more.

She tilted her head to the side, her brow knotted in that curious way as she was stood eye to eye with him.

“May I?”

He realised what she was getting at, and nodded.

Tentatively, Alice raised a finger to his mouth and delicately touched each one. Ever since she had seen them for the first time the other week she’d wanted to feel them, as if to confirm that they were definitely real. She carefully prodded the tip of one with the pad of her finger, being careful not to pierce her own skin.

She caught his eye to find he was staring rather intently at her neck while they were in such close proximity.

“When was the last time you ate?” Alice then questioned him, lowering her hand.

“Alice…”

“Consider this a kindness from me, or me saying thank you for trying to help me,” she murmured. “It’s been a couple of days, hasn’t it?”

Eric didn’t say anything and his face remained passive, even though his wants were a clear giveaway at that moment. His silence told Alice everything she needed to know.

“I shouldn’t,” he said after some time. “You’re not - you’re not exactly… the most physically strong person to do this.”

“I know you won’t go too far, and if I… I don’t know, if I faint it’s my own fault, really.”

He took a deep breath before putting his arm around Alice’s waist and drawing her closer to him. His arm remained locked in place, and he cupped the back of her neck with his free hand. Slowly, Eric brought Alice’s neck closer to his lips and bit down as gentle as was even possible.

She gasped and immediately clutched onto his jacket. The pain only lingered for a second before it was replaced with a strange sensation; he wasn’t exactly sucking, her blood was flowing freely and he was cleaning it up if anything. Eric squeezed her neck in an effort to keep it coming into his mouth. It felt nice, if a little uncomfortable at first.

It had barely been a minute before she started to get light headed and her grip on Eric’s jacket slackened every so slightly. That was when he knew to stop. Her entire body was pounding - maybe it was just her heart going into overdrive - and she wobbled.

He helped lower her into the armchair before coming to crouch in front of her, pricking his finger with a tooth and rubbing it over the small holes in her neck so that they healed up instantly. He retracted his fangs for the final time that night and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“It’s like getting a blood test, really,” she mumbled with a smile on her face, her eyelids fluttering a lot. “Same feeling of when they take… what is it? Three vials?”

“They take that much blood from you? Have you had that done?”

“Hmm mm. I was having physical symptoms of anxiety before the mental ones, so they wanted to rule out anything life threatening - blood test was the way to do that.” Alice tried to sit up straight but instead slumped towards Eric, who caught her before she fell out of the chair entirely.

They were both utterly bemused by the past few minutes. Alice was trying not to completely pass out as he held her, her arms struggling to retain a grip around his shoulders.

“Are you okay?”

“I feel weird. It’s not like - it’s not like the other night.”

“Well, that’s because you’ve not had anything from me,” he pointed out, scooping her up and standing so that he could go and place her on the bed. She curled up on top of the covers upon immediately hitting them.

“Are you okay?” Alice repeated his question back to him.

“I am, thank you,” he had to refrain from chuckling. “You… have an unusually potent taste. Your blood is different. I’ll be alright for a couple more days.”

“What do I taste like?”

Eric settled on the edge of the bed next to her, contemplating his answer. It was something he hadn’t really thought about - he hadn’t the chance to think about it. “If I were still a Viking who believed in the gods and Valhalla, I’d hyperbolise and say that your blood is  _ ambrosia _ , min fjäril,” he told her with a smirk. “Except I don’t believe in that anymore. It’s sweet, and today it tastes like sunshine. It didn’t taste like sunshine the other night.”

Alice uncurled and lay on her back instead. “I have been out in the sun a lot today. That might be why. Also, what did you say? It was Swedish?”

“Min fjäril,” he said. “It means ‘my butterfly.’”

“Why a butterfly?”

“Well… they’re delicate, but tougher than they look. Think on that. Get some rest, it’s late and the sun will be up soon anyway.”

“What are you going to do until then?”

He shrugged. “Read. I don’t know. I don’t get that much down time anymore, but I guess now is a good time to catch up on modern culture. Good night, Alice.”

“Good night, Eric…” the little woman shut her eyes and drifted off almost instantly, causing a pang to go through Eric’s dead heart. She looked peaceful for once, and he was worried that something might disrupt that over the next few days.

* * *

The next day, Alice saw off Sookie and Isabel’s human, Hugo. Worried about anything that could happen to them, she took hold of the telepath’s hand and let a vision wash over her. A mistake on her part; the scratching in her head became present along with a pain at the bridge of her nose.

_ Sookie and Hugo around  the church- _

_ -shown to the basement- _

Alice couldn’t take anymore and let go. Sookie watched her, stunned about what had just happened.

“I can’t touch you again,” the redhead murmured. “I can’t tell you if you’re going to be safe or not… I - I’m sorry…”

Sookie shook her head and placed her hands cautiously on Alice’s shoulders. “Don’t apologise, you can’t help it. Thank you, though, you didn’t have to. Are ya gonna be okay getting back upstairs?”

Alice nodded, even though it was a lie. She felt unbalanced and like her forehead was going to explode, but either way she waited until Sookie and Hugo were gone before she let out the tight breath she had been holding because of it.

How she managed to stay on her own two feet while returning to the hotel room, she didn’t know. This feeling was worse than when she was in Fangtasia for the first time.

It didn’t help that the minute she had set foot back in the room, the pressure in the bridge of her nose was gone and she could feel blood dripping down over her mouth.

“Eric,” she called out, finally dropping to her knees. The last thing she saw before blacking out entirely was the vampire in question rushing across the room to her.


	24. Conversations

In his sleep he had felt her pain. It wasn’t intense and she wasn’t panicking or a bad situation, so Eric didn’t dare move from the room - it was day time, so it was okay. Alice would make her way back and it would be okay.

Except it wasn’t.

Her tiny cry of his name has woken him up entirely and she had collapsed before his very eyes. Eric didn’t reach her before she hit the floor, but it was lucky she had gone to her knees first instead of in one movement.

The habit of carrying Alice over to the bed was one he did not want to get into, not when she was hurt at the very least.

Eric lay her on her back and he kept himself propped up on his elbow next to her, and gently lapped the blood off of her face so that it didn’t dry on her.

_ What the fuck had happened? _

He knew she would tell him when she was conscious again. For now, Eric would let her rest and watch over her, even if it meant getting the bleeds. He elected to sit up in bed if he was going to be there for another six hours doing absolutely nothing; it was easier that way, and the least he could do after the previous night.

Eric drifted in and out of sleep, feeling the blood in his ears and nose as he did so. He didn’t care that he was weakened right now, nobody was going to come and harm him. Nobody knew what was going on so it was  _ fine _ .

He kept telling himself that because it wasn’t like he was any good at being a  _ friend _ to a human such as Alice; someone who was so constantly on edge she didn’t know how to live. He seemed to be doing an okay job, even if they did fuck and that was considered being just a little bit more than friends. She didn’t seem to mind, though, and that was the important thing.

Eventually she stirred, about an hour before sunset. She was startled as she sat bolt upright, confused about how she had even ended up on the bed in the first place. After a few moments, she calmed when she realised it had all been Eric.

“Alice…” he began.

“Sookie,” was the first thing she said to him. “I can’t touch Sookie. Why do you that is? Is it because when she tries to get into my head it hurts? Because it did that again…”

Alice always spoke with composure, but whenever she was worried it only seemed to intensify. Her accent somehow became more English.

“Did you see anything of use?”

She shook her head. “I’m worried though. I’m  _ really  _ worried. Do you think it might be worth going to talk to Bill or Isabel?”

Eric sighed. “If Lorena’s about, she’ll get to Bill the minute the sun’s gone down. Isabel is our best bet - I can meet with her later.”

“Okay, um… Eric? Did you sleep at all this afternoon?”

It was his turn to shake his head. “I drifted every now and then, but… well…” Eric didn’t want to say out loud that he was more concerned for Alice’s well being over his own at that point. “Are you feeling better now?” He opted for the question instead. It was easier that way.

She nodded. “Sleep until sunset. Please?”

“No point,” Eric muttered as he climbed from the bed.

Every bone in his body ached, and the effort required to even walk to the bathroom was… far too much. Staying awake in the day was always a stupid idea, but even stupider was that he did it for a human woman - a human woman he cared about. Something else he hated to admit. He couldn’t help himself… she wasn’t annoying and even though when he started talking to her it was out of obligation, it had become so much more than that now.

The warmth of the water in the shower helped to ease his aches and wash away the blood that had wept from his nostrils and ears; the bleeds were never fun. Luckily it was almost night time, and he could feel himself getting stronger by the second.

He could feel Alice fretting, and found her pacing up and down the room after he got out of the shower. She didn’t say anything to him - there was no need - so he dried off and dressed before even attempting to help.

“Hey,” Eric said softly as he came over to Alice, placing a hand on her shoulder as he did so. She jumped and turned to him, stopping in her pacing. She’d been in her own little world while doing that, to the point she’d momentarily forgotten about Eric being in the room with her. “Twenty minutes, I’ll head off, okay?”

“Okay,” she managed to squeak out.

“You stay here, alright? Eat something, take your tablets, and go to bed. I might be gone for a few hours, but I’ll wake you up when I’m back. How does that sound?”

“That sounds good.”

“Good.” Eric then guided her to the door and out. “Off you go.” Alice didn’t seem to mind the fact he has practically escorted her out, but when she was out of earshot from the room he let out a deep sigh.

Alice wasn’t difficult to deal with, it was just frustrating to see her get worked up so easily.

Eric pulled out his phone and text Isabel where to meet him, before biding his time by making the bed and hanging his towel up in the bathroom. Soon enough, the blinds came up and he didn’t feel like shit anymore - night time.

He checked his nose and ears, cleaning them up if any stray dry blood and headed off.

He jumped up into the sky of Dallas and flew across the city once more, landing a block away from where the Fellowship’s church was; about ten minutes later, Isabel joined him.

“You look awful,” she commented, leading the way as they walked. “Your text was sent before sundown, is everything okay?”

“I didn’t sleep well,” Eric replied, not wanting to get into it. His cryptic and blunt answer didn’t stop Isabel from prying, though.

“Was it the girl?”

“It wasn’t her fault, if that’s what you’re saying,” he raised an eyebrow at her.

“I’m not, I’m only curious,” she replied with a hint of amusement in her voice. “No need to get defensive.”

Eric huffed and they carried on their walk in silence, coming to an open patch of land with a well guarded church in the centre of it. They were on top of a little hill that led down, and trees adorned the perimeter of the church itself. It looked pretty, but they both knew what it contained.

When Eric focused on the people guarding it, he came to realise that perhaps it would be easier to break in than he originally thought.

“This is the Fellowship of the Sun? Scared little boys clutching their bibles?”

“Don’t underestimate them,” Isabel pointed out. “They took Godric, remember? You had a feeling they did, didn’t you? Before even coming here?”

“It was the only explanation that made sense, but now… I just don’t see it,” Eric’s brow knotted. How did someone as powerful as Godric get taken by a group of fanatic humans? He could have torn them all to shreds.

“Why did you want to come here tonight?”

“Alice was worried for Sookie and Hugo. Deeply worried. I’d rather not have a stressed human on my hands so… investigating seemed the only sensible way to… ease her.”

Another raised eyebrow was thrown his way, this time almost mocking him.

“Well, if it helps, I did feel something from Hugo earlier. A brief moment of panic, but then it was gone,” Isabel told him. “I’m sure it’s fine, it’s not exactly an easy situation to be in.”

“What do you see in Hugo to be in a relationship with him? Does it not make you disgusted that he’ll grow old and die?”

“I think it’s fascinating. Like a science experiment. Besides, humans feel so much more than we do, and everything is urgent.”

“You got that last part right… they definitely feel more than we do,” he remarked wryly.

“Why? Is this something to do with Alice?”

“I’m unusually close with her.”

“Have you fucked?”

“Obviously,” he scoffed.

“What else is it?”

“As much as I hate it, we  _ are _ friends. Although I think we’re beginning to tread a fine line between that and something else,” Eric then mused, thinking about their conversation about her growing old. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that in the long run.

Isabel was eyeing him oddly, and he avoided looking her directly in the eye for it. Eric didn’t want her scrutiny and it was far easier to ignore it than face it directly. “Have you considered the idea of having real feelings for her, Eric?”

He groaned - this was not the kind of conversation he wanted to be having with Isabel. “I care about her as a close friend would. With added sex. It’s much more fun that way, besides - I don’t think she even wants a relationship and  _ neither do I. _ ”

“What business does she have with Godric? If she’s here for that and not as your partner.”

“We have a history with her family. I’m not divulging those details.”

“Eric, I saw the gloves and her  _ smell… _ Stan and I both know what she is. I can see why neither of you said anything - very smart, but bringing her here was stupid.”

He sighed. “She has to meet Godric. End of.”

Isabel rolled her eyes. “Always so fucking stubborn.”

“I’m trusting you and Stan won’t say a word to others? You are aware that if you did, I would - regrettably - have to kill you.”

“Don’t make threats, Northman, this isn’t your area,” Isabel warned. “I accept it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. As far as myself and Stan are concerned, Alice is a normal human being.”

“Good.”

They spoke no more after that, and eventually departed from the church. Nothing of use to report back to Alice, but it was certain questionable that Sookie and Hugo were still in there. Eric wasn’t sure if he should say anything in fear of making Alice worry further; as of right now, she was relatively calm and content.

He hadn’t been gone too long - in fact the excursion had been quicker than he originally thought, and he’d only been out for an hour. Eric made it back to the hotel around the same time Alice was about to get into the elevator to go back to their room.

“That was fast,” she commented after realising he had stepped into the lift behind her. Something sounded different about her, like she was struggling to string words together.

“Yes, well, there wasn’t much happening. Sookie and Hugo are still there, which is strange. I’m sure it’s fine.”

Alice nodded silently and that only served to concern Eric. His eyes narrowed in suspicion at her, and while she noticed that, she didn’t make a single comment on it.

The elevator dinged for their floor, and Eric allowed Alice to step out first. She took a few steps and she couldn’t walk entirely straight.

“Have you been drinking by any chance?”

“...No…”

“Are you keeping your mouth shut as a way of pretending sobriety?”

“Nope.”

Eric chuckled and placed a hand under her elbow so as to guide her. “Lightweight,” he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“I’m an idiot because it means I can’t take my tablets but… you’re paying for this trip.”

He sighed, deep and long. Of course that was why she went for the bar after eating. 

The moment they were in the room, Alice wandered over to the sofa and peeled off her cardigan as well as kicking off her shoes. She lounged quite comfortably and casually, seeming to be quite pleased with herself.

At least she wasn’t fretting or upset, and that was all Eric could ask for - he had a feeling that the next day was going to get messy, particularly if Sookie or Hugo didn’t make it back tonight.

Alice looked so disinterested with the world that it was funny. For once she looked like she didn’t give a fuck.

“You’re hot,” Eric ended up saying as he took off his jacket and joined her on the sofa, sitting by her feet. That snapped her back to reality.

“Am I?” She was confused by the statement. “That’s new. Also I’m pretty certain friends don’t randomly say that to each other without context.”

“True, but, there’s never going to be context for me wanting to say that to you.” Eric mentally slapped himself.  _ What was he doing? _ Was he actually trying to hit on her right now? Was this his way of distracting her even more? Probably.

She was smirking at him now, and he didn’t know how he felt about it. “You know I’m only a  _ bit _ tipsy, right?”

“Sure. Still doesn’t change the fact you’re a lightweight.”

“No, it doesn’t. Although it does make me want to have less of a composed filter.”

Now that piqued his interest. “Go on.”

“Honestly, whatever this whole…  _ thing _ between us is, I don’t care what we call it. Or where it goes. You’re not the relationship type and I don’t want a relationship right now,” she stated bluntly. Not as fun as he expected, but he appreciated it all the same.

“Fine by me. As long as we’re friends,” Eric concluded.

“Yes. As long as we’re friends,” Alice paused. “Sorry for basically carrying on a conversation we had last night. It was on my mind, I guess. I wanted to make it clear.”

Yet again, Eric sighed at her need to apologise. “Don’t be sorry - it’s better that way.”

“Good.” Alice then shifted her position on the sofa quickly, so that she was on her knees next to Eric, holding out her hand. “Can I try something?”

He glanced down at her hand and nodded, taking it in his own because he knew what she wanted to try. Alice shut her eyes when their skin touched, but there was no panic coming from her. There was no fear; there was no way to describe what she was feeling. It was almost like it was nothing.

That was when he figured she’d successfully blocked it out, except the longer she tried to hold it the more difficult it became. Eventually she let go, and looked fairly proud of herself, if not also bashful at the same time. Always so modest and humble, she couldn’t even let herself have a victory.

“Maybe being less composed means less tense,” she murmured, getting up and heading over to the bed. “Because that was… too easy. Way too easy.”

Eric didn’t like the fact she was beginning to get upset over it now. He didn’t say anything in fear of making her current fluctuating mood worse. Instead he remained silent as she changed into her pyjamas and got into bed, chewing over his next words carefully.

“If you think being relaxed is what’s going to help, then that’s on you to work on that,” he said to her carefully, risking a glance over at her.

Alice considered his words for a moment and then nodded in agreement before lying down. Eric didn’t go over because she clearly wanted to be left in peace, and he wasn’t going to pry or make more suggestions when he shouldn’t be.

“Sleep well,” he called over to her, getting up to dim the lights at the very least.

She mumbled out a response but crashing out - alcohol would do that to a person.

He sat back on the sofa and mulled over their conversation because she was right - he wasn’t the relationship type, but they couldn’t deny they were a little more than friends… whatever it was, it was good. It was definitely better than whatever she had been dealing with before, because she wasn’t afraid of him.

Eric was surprised that she wasn’t upset in her sleep that night - no anxious or scared cries, and again he put it down to alcohol. There was no time for her subconscious to play its cruel tricks, really. He was able to have some down time without being concerned for Alice for once.

As much as he disliked being close with her, he did enjoy it at the same time. He hated it because it was something he wasn’t used to and didn’t do, but her company was without a doubt refreshing and entertaining for him.

When the sun came up, Eric had to refrain from holding her close in bed. He didn’t want to overstep it after the conversation they’d had.


	25. Godric

The panic was starting to set in now.

No sign of Sookie and Hugo, and there was no way she was going to disturb Bill in the day time.

Eric had stirred at one point in the afternoon but Alice hushed him back to sleep, and told him to just let her worry about it - there wasn’t anything he could do in the day time anyway.

It was at about four o’clock that Alice decided to something incredibly stupid. She couldn’t take it anymore - she had to go investigate for herself…

So she hopped on a bus that would take her to the Fellowship of the Sun.

Obviously, the journey there didn’t help with her nerves in the slightest, but it gave her time to think up a convincing enough lie if she was confronted by anyone at all.

It was strange how harmless and welcoming the church actually seemed when she got there. Goers milled in and out, and there was a familiar looking woman greeting everyone at the door; Alice had seen her on television - when she elected to watch the news - and knew it to be Sarah Newlin, wife of Reverend Steve Newlin.

She really did not seem like the vampire-hating type of woman - she was so kind and friendly to everyone she was currently speaking to. Alice knew that it would be the exact same for her, but when she approached there was a nervousness to the woman she hadn’t noticed from afar.

“Well hi there,” Sarah grinned down warmly at Alice. “I haven’t seen y’all around here before, welcome! How are ya doing today?”

Over the top. Very over the top. She seemed even more fretful behind that grin now. Alice smiled back to help put her ease with whatever was going through her mind. “Oh, I’m just visiting the area. I was on a bus, saw the church and just had to come have a look! Could I pray here for a minute?”

“Of course you can!” Sarah gently touched Alice on the shoulder. “Our doors are open for  _ everyone _ and I mean that. I hope Dallas has been treating you well, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” Alice then shuffled away awkwardly, feeling guilty about lying in a place of worship. She wasn’t religious in the slightest, but it had still felt inherently wrong to say she wanted to pray.

Either way, she wandered through the double doors into the church sanctuary, which was perhaps larger than any regular church she had set foot in. The light streamed in from the glass all the way up at the back by the altar, and the pews wee all cushioned. A few people were littered about here and there, praying of course. Praying for real.

Alice sat down close to the doors so that she could get out quickly, and bowed her head down with her hands in her lap. She closed her eyes and concentrated on what she had seen in regards to Sookie the day before, hoping that she would be able to see something new instead. There was no other way she’d be able to figure out what had happened.

Nothing came to her, and she wondered if it was to do with how Sookie affected her mind.

But then-

_ Scratching. _

Sookie was still there!

Alice shuddered and rose, walking at a quick pace back towards the exit. In and out, simple as. She could get back to the hotel and tell Eric, he would figure something out and they’d get Sookie and Hugo out. Simple. It was so, so simple. She was glad that this quick trip out had gone as smoothly as it had.

Until it didn’t.

Steven Newlin himself and a rather strong, tough looking man with large ears came in through the double doors she was about to exit. Alice balked, shocked at seeing the pair right there. Steve flashed a smile at her.

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to startle ya! I heard you came in here to pray?”

“Yes… I did,” Alice tried to smile back, but it was hard to without it looking fake. The man who was with Steve  _ really _ didn’t look friendly in the slightest. “I’m heading off now,” she then said, managing to get past the two men and through the doors. “Thank you for allowing me in, it was  _ wonderful. _ ”

She said that last part over her shoulder and then didn’t look back as she tried to power walk out of there without looking too suspicious. Her heart was racing and Alice could only hope to get out of the perimeter before anything bad happened.

She kept telling herself it would be fine, but apparently even thinking that kind of reassurance turned her luck.

A rough hand grabbed her on the shoulder, trying to stop her, and the adrenaline immediately kicked in. Alice ran for her life, despite knowing that it was futile as the man was bound to be quicker than she was.

“She’s with them!” Steve yelled from the church doors as she sprinted up the driveway towards the Main Street. “We’ll toss her with the vampire!”

Alice was grabbed again and she lost her balance, falling to the ground and whacking her face pretty hard on the gravelly road as she did so. Pain exploded from her nose and she knew it was broken. She tried getting up but it was no use - he managed to get hold of her again and flip her over, delivering a few more punches to her face, the final one rendering her unconscious.

* * *

Alice came to a couple of hours later, with someone staring down at her in curiosity, wonder, heartbreak and surprise; the amount of emotions she saw in that teenage boy’s face was something else entirely. She had never seen such a mixture. Immediately she backed off into the corner of the room, not keen on having him in her personal space.

He held out his hands in surrender, showing that he meant her no harm and smiled at her. Despite the situation they were both currently in, he was  _ smiling? _

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. Alice was able to calm down a little after he spoke; his voice was soft with a European accent she couldn’t detect. She couldn’t get over how young he looked - particularly with the cropped dark hair, that didn’t help. “You… look like someone I know - knew.”

It started to click together in her head. “Rosalind. Oh my god, Godric!”

“I believe I know you too, sort of, Alice - why are you here?” Godric slowly approached and sat next to her. His ears were bleeding a little, which told Alice that the sun was still up. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Eric brought me along - he didn’t want me to come  _ here _ , but I thought it was odd Sookie didn’t come back last night, so I came here today.”

“You shouldn’t have come.”

Alice shot him a look as if to say she had figured that out. “I keep doing stupid things because I worry about my friends. Apologies on that front,” she said, almost bitter about her own personality. “Eric won’t be too happy.”

“If he has sense, he’ll realise that he’s being irrational,” Godric said. “Besides, if he has sense, he’ll be here after the sun goes down.”

“You should rest; you shouldn’t even be awake!”

“I had to see who had been put in here with me,” he told her gently. “The scent was too familiar and strong for me not to wake up. I really cannot fathom how you look so much like Rose.”

“Don’t. We’re not in a good situation, this isn’t the time to get nostalgic. Please,” Alice said, beginning to worry. She patted about her pockets and pulled out her phone. “They didn’t do a good job. No signal, but… we’ve got about an hour until the sun sets. Please sleep.”

“What if they come back? Alice… you’re not exactly in good shape right now.”

She frowned, and as she did so, finally noticed the pain around her eye and hissed a little. How did it take that long for her to realise? Perhaps there was still some adrenaline left in her body from the altercation earlier, or she was functioning on anxiety again. The latter was more believable to her, except it was all wearing off since she could feel where she was hurt now. Her jaw and neck hurt, which wasn’t surprising - she probably had whiplash from that punch. Not to mention, her nose was throbbing.

“If you stay awake, you’re not exactly being clever. You won’t be at full strength to fight anyone off!”

“I’m over two thousand years old. You’d be surprised at what I can do when not at full strength,” he admitted, chuckling slightly.

Alice pulled down the sleeve of her cardigan, keeping tight hold of it in one hand and shuffling closer to Godric. “At least let me help you look a little more presentable,” she said, and he tilted his head upwards ever so slightly so that she could wipe away some of the blood from his ear.

“Has Eric been touched by your kindness?” Godric wondered as Alice moved to the other side of him.

She paused for a moment and shrugged. “Sort of. He wasn’t keen on the idea, but he… he accepted it nonetheless,” she then murmured, starting on his other ear. “He’s worried about you, Godric.”

“I know he is.”

“You could have easily gotten out of here yourself - why haven’t you?”

He shifted uncomfortably as she finished up and sat back on her haunches. “Once you leave here, you cannot tell Eric what I’m about to tell you: I offered myself to the Fellowship in the hopes that I could prove something - that it would make things right.”

Alice fell silent, trying to process what he was saying; she was unable to formulate a proper response to that. She couldn’t keep that a secret from Eric - how could Godric ask her to? She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill out; when one did, Godric tentatively wiped it away with his thumb.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Keeping things from Eric should be my choice,” she murmured, a faraway look on her face. “Don’t ask me to keep your secrets, Godric. That’s not fair on me. You need to tell Eric that.”

“I know.”

“What were they going to do to you, here?” she asked him quietly.

“Burn me.”

Alice’s face went taut. “Why would you willing hand yourself over if that’s what they were going to do?”

“Two thousand years is a long time to be alive, Alice, and I fear for the rest of vampirekind. I believe it’s my time to leave this Earth.”

She was shaking her head, not having it - this was too much to be taking in at once, and she had to stop herself from fully crying. Alice kept herself calm, not wanting her now overwhelming sadness to find its way to Eric and worry him.

“I’ve only just met you,” she said. “I have so many questions.”

“And I will answer them all for you before it happens. I promise,” Godric reassured her. “We have all night.”

“If Eric has sense, he’ll be here when the sun goes down,” Alice pointedly repeated Godric’s earlier words. “And he does have sense - if anything happened here when he’s awake, he’d feel it because of me. He’d be here. We’d get out. You won’t have to burn at the hands of the Fellowship.”

“Rose was always that hopeful,” he remarked. “I’m glad that trait has passed to at least one of you.”

“Are you saying you’ve met my siblings?”

“I met all of you; you were about three though, so you won’t remember. It had… been some time since I had last seen Rose. I had respectfully kept my distance after she and I parted ways, but she reached out to me,” Godric began to explain. “Perhaps some bonds never fade - I felt her call to me one night. She needed help figuring out which of you four were going to be like her - well, she knew it wasn’t Arthur. Unfortunately the three of you girls all looked far too similar, it would have been hard to tell for Rose which one of you would grow up to be like her.”

“She was able to see that far ahead? But why ask you to help?”

He nodded. “The reason she asked me to help figure it out was because you smell different to ra regular human. She must have kept up the practise over the years, probably to keep herself reassured about her own life. That side of your family want nothing but quiet lives.”

“And look where I am now: in a basement of a church, talking to a vampire who is clearly still in love with my dead grandmother,” Alice said dryly. She clapped a hand over her mouth, looking at Godric apologetically. He only raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Have you been picking up Eric’s way with words by any chance?”

Alice lowered her hand. “Maybe a little. He was my first friend when I moved here,” she confessed. “But in all seriousness… you still love her, don’t you?”

“Sometimes when you fall for someone, you fall incredibly hard. It doesn’t matter how long it could be without you seeing them; it doesn’t matter how long it has been since you broke up with them; it doesn’t matter who you may be in a relationship with at the present time, but there’s always something in your heart - an everlasting love that will never go away. That person stays etched into your very soul forever.  _ Rose _ is etched into my soul forever.”

Again, despite the less than ideal situation they were in, Alice found it in her to smile at that. Godric had over two thousand years behind him - of course he had a way with words. He had explained it in a way that she understood, even though it was something that she hadn’t personally felt yet.

“I want that,” she ended up saying, and Godric lightly cupped her face.

“You do, but you just don’t know it yet.”

There was confusion decorating her face, and the vampire waited patiently as he lowered his hand until her expression changed to realisation.

“I’m not - I do  _ not _ have that with Eric,” Alice told him, her cheeks burning as she aggressively shook her head.

“Whenever you’ve mentioned him in our conversation your eyes sparkle. It’s so very human of you.”

“We’re just  _ friends.  _ Really good  _ friends. _ ”

“Who have shared blood, I presume?”

“For my own safety.”

“So you don’t deny that you’ve given him your blood? In what sense was that for your safety?” Godric teased her.

“I - well - we might have - wait - hold on. Aren’t I meant to be the one asking you questions?” Alice managed to recover without confessing that she had had sex with his progeny. Either way - the fact she had started to suggest it was enough for Godric to make his guesses.

“Do friends usually partake in those kinds of activities with each other?”

Alice groaned. “Some friends do! That’s why it’s called friends with benefits… but that doesn’t mean I love him - or will end up  _ being in love _ with him. He’s not the type, and I’m  _ definitely _ not ready for love again.”

Godric shrugged. “Not all love is romantic,” he pointed out. “All the better for you to remain having a strong platonic love for my progeny despite being very aware of how good in bed he is.”

“Wait… have you and Eric-”

“Of course.”

“I probably should have guessed that by now,” Alice laughed, and then caught herself as she remembered where they were. She checked her phone again. “Not long until sunset. What happens next? What do we do?”

“My first priority would be making sure you’re out of here safe. Try and call out to Eric as much as you can -  _ feel _ for him.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard… after we shared blood, I was able to feel what he was feeling.”

“For someone like you, that was bound to happen. I’m not surprised - it happened with myself and Rose - I can explain it to you, when we’re safe. That’s a  _ good _ thing for you, Alice, because it means he could call to you in a similar way a maker would call to their progeny,” Godric said. “Use it to your advantage.”

His energy seemed to be growing, and Alice knew the sun was almost down. She could wake Eric up and not feel too bad about it; before he woke up and realise she wasn’t back. It was better if she somehow let him knew that she was in a sticky situation.

So Alice closed her eyes and thought of him, and thought of how worried she was to be in the basement under the Fellowship’s church. She didn’t want to be there, she was scared of what might happen to her and Godric.

A few moments later, she felt an overwhelming sense of calm coming from Eric; he was trying to soothe her. It was so powerful she clutched at her chest and took a deep breathe, doubling over.

“Are you alright?” Godric asked, putting an arm around her. She nodded and waited for it to pass before sitting upright again.

“Sometimes he sends everything in a large wave...” she said, still mildly breathless. “I can’t deal with it when he does that, but I think he’s on his way.”

“Good.” Godric then stood up, and listened out for something. “Alice, I think Sookie’s in trouble.”

“What?”

“I’ll be back shortly, I promise.” He headed towards the door and she got up to come after him.

“Don’t leave me here-”

“Alice,” he cut across her. “You’re already hurt, and I don’t want you to be any worse off. Please. I’ll be back, alright?”

She backed off and nodded.

Godric smashed the door open and ran off, leaving Alice on her own. It was stupid, but maybe she could make her own way out. Nobody had come to check if Godric had drained her, because she knew that’s what they had been hoping for.

Cautiously she made her way to the door, and peered out into the dimly lit hallway. There was nobody around, and so Alice creeped down the hallway towards a staircase.

That’s where she got unlucky.

She was about three feet from it when Steve Newlin came down.

They both stared at each other, not entirely sure what to do.

That was when she started running with the man hot on her heels. He was marginally taller and faster than Alice, and managed to catch up. He grabbed her by the collar of her cardigan and she fell to the ground.

Alice leaned up on her elbows as Newlin crouched down to talk to her.

“Oh, you ain’t getting away that easy, Miss Carter.”

She froze, absolutely petrified that he knew her name on top of everything else. He knew he had frightened her, and hauled her up by the arm to lead her out of the basement. Alice went with him crying silently, wishing she had just stayed put.


	26. Newlin

Godric stood staring at the dead body on the ground in front of him. As much as he had wanted to never commit a violent act against a human ever again, this one deserved it for attempting to rape Sookie.

“You should not have come,” he said to Sookie, who hurriedly got to her feet and straightened out her dress. “None of you should have.”

At that moment, screams from above rang out.

“Bill?!” Sookie said hopefully.

“No,” Godric replied, closing his eyes. “I’m here, my child. Down here.”

A few seconds later, Eric made an appearance.

“Godric,” he breathed, falling to his knees in front of his maker.

“You were a fool for sending humans after me.”

“I had no other choice. These savages, they - they seek to destroy you.”

“I’m aware of what they have planned.” Godric then gestured to Hugo who was unconscious on the floor. “This one betrayed you.”

“He’s with the Fellowship,” Sookie said. “They set a trap for us.”

Eric rose from the ground. “How long has it been since you’ve fed?”

“I require very little blood anymore,” he hissed at Eric. “Now take Sookie and go - I need to go get Alice.”

“She was with you?” Sookie asked. “I felt her here earlier, but I thought she got away.”

“She came to search for you and was attacked,” Godric told her before turning back to Eric. “She’s a little battered, but alright.”

Eric nodded. “She’s scared.”

“I told her to use her fear to summon you.”

“No, I mean right now, she’s scared. Why did you leave her on her own  _ here _ ?” Eric wasn’t exactly happy with that.

“I’ll find her. Take Sookie. Spill no blood on your way out,” Godric commanded. “Go!”

The taller vampire nodded again and gestured for Sookie to follow him out.

They headed down the corridor and up the stairs, where the way out of the church was in full view - except the door was being guarded by three of Newlin’s followers. Luckily they were covered by an archway near the basement door, and kept hidden there. A recorded tannoy announcement from Newlin rang throughout the church, warning everyone of the imminent danger from the vampires.

“I could have you out in seconds…” Eric commented as he tried to calculate a way out.

“There’s kids out there,” Sookie said.

“Humans wouldn’t think twice about hurting us.”

“Why didn’t you bring Bill with you?”

“His attachment to you is irrational,” he said. “It clouds his judgement - he would kill every child in this church to save you.”

“And yours to Alice isn’t?”

Nostrils flared, Eric turned to Sookie who took a step back when she realised that she had overstepped a line.

“Miss Stackhouse, dear William and I are very different than you think. He is in a relationship with you - god forbid - meanwhile Miss Carter and I are friends. Good friends, I’ll readily admit, but I’m following Godric’s orders to get you out. Don’t assume to know about my attachment to  _ anyone _ . Are we clear on that?”

Sookie’s face was stony, but she nodded all the same. “Godric’s your maker, isn’t he?”

“Don’t use words you don’t understand.”

“You have a lot of love for him.”

A beat. “Don’t use words I don’t understand.”

Eric brought his attention back to the task at hand, and carefully approached the three humans, trying to put on a bumbling idiot persona; it worked to a point, but when one of them realised he was glamouring another, tried to stake him.

Sookie called out to him, and he knocked two of the humans to the floor while holding the third to the wall, the stake in question at his throat. The waitress came running towards the pair.

“You don’t have to kill him!”

Pissed off enough, Eric dropped the man along with the stake. He peered out the front doors, but there was a huge crowd of Newlin’s followers making their way towards the church.

“You’ll never make it through…” groaned the human as his two friends ran off.

“Eric - through the sanctuary, come on!” Sookie grabbed him by the hand and started pulling him in that direction, through the ornate doors and hurrying down the aisle.

“Where’s the exit?” he asked.

“Back that way,” Sookie said, pointing in the direction of the altar.

“There are several exits, actually,” came a voice, hidden somewhere near the altar. “For you, the easiest one takes you straight to hell.”

The pair froze as they saw Steve Newlin emerge from the shadows, Alice with him. They walked towards the altar, Newlin holding onto the woman by her hair. Sookie held out her arm in an effort to stop Eric from rushing up towards them.

The man shoved her to her knees, and kept hold of her. She was frightened, tearful, but trying her best not to show it. Eric knew better than that, and tried his best to soothe her. She briefly made eye contact with him before going back to looking at the ground; she didn’t want to move a muscle.

Hordes of Newlin’s followers came through the doors on all sides, surrounding the small group up near the altar. They were armed with silver, stakes, and guns. Their prospects of getting out in one piece looked incredibly slim at this point.

“I’m - I’m sorry…” Alice muttered, directing the statement at Eric. “I - I don’t know how they knew about me…”

“Not just one whore of Satan, but two!” Newlin proclaimed quite proudly. He crouched down next to Alice. “You were betrayed, unfortunately for you. Can’t slip out from under my radar!”

“This is madness!” Sookie cried out, looking around at his followers. “Go! Save yourselves! You don’t have to fight for him! The vampire you took got away!”

“Give me the girl,” Eric said to Newlin. The reverend’s eyebrows rose as he stood up straight again.

“And what do I get in return?”

Eric glanced between Alice and Sookie.

“Me.”

“Well, the vampire didn’t have to be Godric. Ladies and gentlemen: there will be a holy bonfire at dawn!” Steve announced, to the now applauding crowd.

He let go of Alice’s hair, pulling her to her feet by the collar before pushing her towards Eric. She stumbled as the vampire went to switch places with her, but he caught her as they passed on another. Seeing Alice bruised and scared made Eric’s blood boil; she looked away as she felt that rush of anger from him. It was all he could do not rip out Newlin’s throat right there and then.

He simmered down internally and gently squeezed the sides of her arms before letting go and continuing on to the altar. Alice quickened her pace towards Sookie and threw her arms around her; the embrace was returned in relief, as both women were glad to see each other again. They were separated soon enough and held back by members of the church, which neither of them could fight off right now. If they tried, there was the chance that it would do more harm than good.

They could only watch in horror as Eric was approached with silver and made to strip off his jacket. The silver was thrown over him, and he ended up being forced to lie on the altar. The burning pain filtered through to Alice and her breathing quickened, as if it wasn’t enough for her to watch as Eric was made out to be some sort of unholy example to a deranged audience.

She hid her growing panic from Sookie; the waitress couldn’t know about how strong the bond between her and Eric was. Sookie couldn’t know that Alice was feeling everything happening to the vampire right now, and how much pain she was in. It was struggle to stay up right and watch as Newlin carried on with his little show.

“You see?” he began. “Just as our Lord, our Saviour was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, just a few ounces of silver can betray a child of Satan to the world!” his voice had increased in volume, and there were murmurs of agreement among the Fellowship.

“That doesn't even make any sense!” Sookie said. “How can you people even listen to him?!”

“Maybe we should tie them to you and you can meet the sun together? Or just the redhead you seem so fond of,” Newlin said to Eric, who hissed at him.

The hiss from Eric made Alice attempt to break free; all she managed was to loosen an arm, and it caused the man holding her to just grip her even more tightly. She was struggling to keep it together as it was, and this wasn’t helping.

Newlin was about to say something to Alice when there was a loud crash from the back of the church, and then-

“Sookie!” it was Bill. He wasn’t happy, in fact he had never looked more pissed off with his fangs bared the way they were at that current moment. He ran closer to the group near the altar, making them some of them scream and jump back.

“One more step vampire and the blonde girl dies,” Steve now had a gun pointed at Sookie's head, making Bill come to a halt.

“If you shoot her, everyone here will die!” he shouted at him. “Let her go, now. Let them  _ both _ go!”

“Honestly, what do you they see in you?” he shook his head at Sookie and sighed. “Soldiers, some silver chains for our friend here.”

“No, don't, he's done nothing to you!” Sookie told Newlin as one of the men began to go towards Bill, the chains rattling in his hands.

“Sookie, I will be fine,” Bill reassured her. It didn’t convince her or Alice, who was trying to block out Eric’s pain.

Before anyone could reach Bill, another person burst into the sanctuary. They called out for Newlin, who promptly dropped his gun as a shot rang out - the reverend was crying out in pain as he held his hand, gritting his teeth. The group scattered a little, looking for where the shot came from, and all eyes fell on-

“Jason?” Sookie said, a confused frown on her face. “Alice, that’s my brother!” she added quietly to her friend, who was now just as confused. She’d never met Jason, but it was disconcerting to her that he was even here.

“Let her go, fuckwad!” he shouted at Newlin, firing off his gun again and leaving a bright green splotch in the middle of his forehead.

“Son of bitch!” he cried as three men grabbed Jason and took the paintball gun away from him.

Bill took his chances and ran up to Sookie, pushing away the man holding her, and he took her in his arms. The man that had been holding Alice let go of her in fear and backed off. She took this opportunity amidst the chaos to attempt to collect herself for a moment before running up to the altar and ripping the chains off Eric with shaking hands.

He sat up angrily, with his fangs bared and made for the reverend, pinning him to the steps by the neck.

“Eric - don’t. Please,” Alice pleaded with him, relief flooding through her now that she could see his skin stitching itself back together quickly.

“Kill him!” Jason shouted from across the church. “Kill the motherfucker!”

“Go on then,” Newlin told Eric. “Murder us. Murder us before God! We are willing to die.”

Then somehow, something more interesting happened.

The sounds of rushing vampires were surrounding the church, frightening everyone inside it.

Sookie held onto Bill like her life depended on it, and the pair of them looked around, wondering what was happening. Then Stan and several other of the Dallas vampires walked through the same doors Bill had come through, looking as if they could murder.

“Steve Newlin! You have pushed us too far,” Stan started off. The Fellowship members huddled together, tightening the grip on their stakes looking even more fearful now that several furious vampires were within metres of them. “You expect us to sit on our thumbs while you round up your men to come lynch us? We'll kill you first,” he smirked a little and the men let go of Jason. “Same way we did your father.”

“Murderer!” Newlin shouted, trying to get up. Eric only growled and pushed him back down again, causing him to choke a little.

“Destroy them,” Stan said gruffly. “All of them.”

Each fang-ready vampire ran to a human and took them, pulling their head back by the hair and preparing to tear out their necks. People were screaming for their lives, trying to run but only to be caught by a vampire who hadn't found a potential victim.

“We have to go, now!” Bill told Sookie in all the uproar. “Alice, come on!” he called out to the other woman, who shook her head, choosing to remain by Eric.

“Enough!” a familiar voice spoke from higher up. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards the back of the church to see Godric standing on the ledge of the bannister on the upper level. Eric let go of Newlin. “You came for me, I assume? Underling?” he spoke directly to Stan.

“Yes, Sheriff...” Stan replied, irritated that his fun had been stopped.

“These people have not harmed me,” Godric continued, addressing all of the vampires present now. Absolute silence filled the church. “You see, we can co-exist. Mr Newlin... I do not wish to create bloodshed when none is called for. Help me set an example. If we leave you in peace, will you do the same?”

“I will  _ not _ negotiate with sub-humans,” Newlin got to his knees and looked up at Eric, pulling aside his collar. “Kill me. Do it. Jesus will protect me,” he offered his neck to the vampire.

“I'm actually older than your Jesus,” Godric said. “I wish I could have known him, but I missed it,” he gave a little shrug and Alice smiled slightly.

Godric was then down on the ground level faster than anyone could blink, picking up Newlin by the back of his collar.

“Good people,” he addressed the Fellowship. “Who of you are willing to die for this man's madness?” They all stared in silence, none of them responding. “That's what I thought. Stand down everyone.”

Everyone relaxed a little as the vampires let go of the frightened humans.

“People: go home. It's over now.”

Humans and vampires alike began to leave the church, while Newlin crooned to the humans to not leave him, but none of them were listening. Godric then threw him down to the ground with a slightly disgusted look upon his face.

“I dare say my faith in humankind is stronger than yours,” he told the reverend, before going to approach Eric and Alice, where the former was beginning to fuss over the latter. “Alice, I’m sorry I did not come back for you sooner. By the time I got back to the room… you were gone.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I thought maybe I could make my way out, which was when Newlin grabbed me.”

Eric growled again; he had only retracted his fangs a mere minute previously, but it was obvious he was about to let them drop again. The one thing that stopped him was Alice placing her hand on his chest.

“No,” she said softly.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m aware of that. He didn’t touch me.”

“The man who did is currently dead in the basement,” Godric said. “Eric you saw the body with your own eyes. I’ll see you back at the nest.” With those final words, he began to make his way out of the church, Stan hot on his heels.

Eric turned his attention back to Alice, who looked away from him in shame - she couldn’t make eye contact with him, not with the injuries on her face. He’d only start worrying again. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” she murmured. “I just - I think I need to lie down. Maybe have a bit of time to process what happened-”

“And tell me about it.”

She nodded, noticing there was a slight edge to his voice. “I need rest, Eric. A hug and a shower would be good too.”

While they weren’t paying attention, Newlin collapsed loudly onto the floor, and Jason Stackhouse walked away looking pretty victorious with Sookie and Bill. Eric and Alice could only assume he had given the reverend a proper decking while they weren’t paying attention.

Due to everyone else leaving, Eric obliged to one of Alice’s requests and drew her into his arms, resting his chin atop her head. The little woman breathed him in deeply, glad to be in his comforting embrace after all that nonsense. He was radiating a kind of warmth towards her that she couldn’t put a word to, but happily accepted it all the same. It was calming.

“Come on,” he said after a minute or two, pulling away from her. “Let’s get out of this fucking hell hole.”

She agreed and as they walked down the aisle out of the church, the human woman looped her arm through the vampire’s. She remained latched firmly onto him there, to the point where if Eric had been a human it would have hurt his arm. He glanced down at her, noticing how she was staring straight ahead and refusing to make eye contact with him still. She was trying to remain as composed as possible; her posture was straighter than it should have been as well, and she held her head high.

Alice was strange like that, he’d come to realise. There was nothing he could do to change the way she coped with trauma, and he wouldn’t even know how to begin with. To the untrained eye, she would appear to be okay if not a tad clingy.

The giveaway of the fact she wasn’t okay, was her taut jaw as she forced herself to not let her bottom lip wobble and give way to the tears that were forming in her eyes.


	27. Caring

Back at the nest, everyone was queueing to speak to Godric, grateful that he was return safely and unharmed. He appeared to be mildly uninterested in what people had to say, either not saying anything or giving a singular nod in acknowledgement. Nobody could be sure for the reason behind his distant nature right now, but they didn’t bother to ask about it. It had been a long night so far, after all.

Meanwhile Eric had taken Alice to one of the free rooms within the house and was - in his way - fretting about her. She kept trying to brush him off, but her tears and bruises said otherwise.

“Stop it,” he told her, getting frustrated. She briefly eyed him curiously. “You’re trying so hard to keep your composure even though you’re already crying - just stop it.”

Alice pouted, and he rolled his eyes.

“Let me look at you,” Eric said a little more gently. Slowly, Alice lifted her chin and he properly inspected her face. She had a black eye and a tiny cut on her lip, as well as some lighter bruising on her jaw. “And the rest of you?”

She allowed Eric to push aside the fabric of her cardigan to her left shoulder was turning purple - possibly from when she had hit the ground before being knocked unconscious earlier on, but she was fine.

Eric sighed. “It’s a good thing you didn’t go with Hugo and Sookie, otherwise you would have been down there for another day.”

“It’s a good thing they tossed me in with Godric then…” Alice sniffed, and wiped her eyes, wincing as she touched the bruised one.

“Why did you go there?” he asked her quietly, trying to hold back a soft kind of anger, one that made Alice freeze.

She thought over her answer carefully, because she didn’t want to cause an argument, or for Eric to get outwardly angry. He was eyeing her intently, waiting patiently and she wondered if his anger was towards her or everything else.

Alice took a deep breath. “Because you told me last night you were sure it was fine. I - I was still worried this afternoon, which is why I went.”

Eric pulled away from her and dropped his head into his hands, frustrated and trying to keep his cool. “Alice… this could have been worse than it was, you know that right?”

He peered up at her from between his fingers as she nodded, the tears coming back in full force. She was properly crying now, and Eric couldn’t help himself but put and arm around her and hold her close.

He did his best to hush Alice, because he knew she was just trying to look out for Sookie - who pretty much a friend to her at this point. Eric couldn’t fault her for her loyalty, even if she had been aware of this entire situation potentially being a trap, considering that was something they had spoken about before leaving for this god forsaken city.

Of course, to make matters worse, someone walked into the room. Alice was ready to jump away from Eric but he kept her in place against him as she cried into his chest - the intruder was only Godric. He stood there bemused for a moment watching the pair of them, and it only caused Eric to shift a little uncomfortably, his face going stony in the process.

“I think she’s scared about what could have happened to her, if she hadn’t been put in with you,” Eric explained quietly, and Godric nodded.

“I should have told you to come with me, Alice. I can’t imagine how frightened you were with Newlin. He didn’t do anything to you, did he?” he then asked, squatting down in front of the redhead. She sniffed and wiped her eyes - carefully - before turning her attention to Godric and shaking her head. “Good. I don’t think either of us would forgive ourselves if you had come out this any worse off.” He looked pointedly at Eric.

“I would have probably killed someone, if we’re going to be honest here,” he said.

“And that wouldn’t have gotten us anywhere,” Godric replied, standing straight. “Come. Join in the festivities. I don’t particularly for it much, but…” he shrugged. “I’ll see you out there. I only wanted to check in while I had a moment to myself.”

With that, he left. Eric allowed Alice to pull away from him so that she could straighten herself out. She couldn’t do anything about the bruises - although Eric could - but she managed to make herself look like she hadn’t been crying and walked out the room with her head held high without another word to him.

Alice was cautious as she wandered among the house guests, painfully aware of which ones were humans and which ones were vampires; the vampires had a tendency to stare after her, and it made her incredibly self conscious. Luckily she spotted Sookie and Bill, so she wandered over to them.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” Sookie said, pulling her in for a quick hug.

“Yeah, I’m glad you are too,” Alice replied quietly, stepping back and giving her a small smile, before turning to Bill. “Everything okay, Bill? You look put out.”

He definitely hadn’t been expecting that.

“I was just saying to Sookie how it was…  _ complicated _ that I hadn’t been able to get to the Fellowship sooner,” he said, obviously uncomfortably.

“And that is not an answer,” Sookie insisted. “Bill, what even happened? You’ve always come runnin’, even in broad daylight!”

“I was held.”

“Held? By who? Eric?”

“It  _ really _ wasn’t-” Alice began saying, but the vampire himself had sauntered over and cut her off.

“Heard my name. Hope you’re speaking well of me,” he said with a smirk.

“Why should I? You let me walk into a trap.”

Eric glanced at Alice for a moment, who refused to look at him. “I regret that,” he then said. “If I had known it was a possibility-”

“You did know. But because it was Godric you’d…” Sookie was looking between him and Alice now, piecing together their suddenly strange interaction. “Risk… anything. You’d risk anything except for Alice. You  _ both _ knew, didn’t you?!”

Alice let out a deep sigh, moving to stand directly next to Eric with tears in her eyes. She looped her arm through his, and the action surprised him; he quirked an eyebrow at her. “It was a hunch he had from the beginning, and yes, I knew about it too. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, Sookie.”

“You’re just as bad as he is right now,” the waitress said, shaking her head in disappointment. “I thought you were better than that.”

“I’m good at keeping secrets, and have been for a  _ very _ long year,” Alice said in stern tone that suggested she was giving Sookie a warning. “I - unfortunately - know how to lie well. So yes, I’m just as bad as Eric in that regard. Take that as you will.”

Not particularly wanting to be in conversation with Sookie anymore, Alice tugged Eric away. He was staring down at her in shock. She wasn’t angry, she was surprising calm - well, as calm as she could be on the surface, at least. She clearly hadn’t spoken to anyone in that way for a long time and was worried about the repercussions of it.

Either way, Alice led him to a quiet corner of the house somewhere near Godric, who was now looking particularly sullen. She let go of the vampire and stood opposite him.

“Once we head back to the hotel, I’ll tell you about the past year of my life,” she mumbled, running a hand through her hair.

He frowned. “Why now?”

“Because keeping that piece of information from Sookie this whole time reminded me that I  _ am _ a good liar, as well as being good at keeping secrets. I will say now that I haven’t lied to you - I wouldn’t, and I couldn’t. I just- I just need to tell you what it was that happened…”

Alice was dangerously close to tears again and hid her face in the palm of her hands so that Eric didn’t have to see her cry yet again. He had no idea what to do at this point, and was aware that Godric was watching them intently, so he put his arms around her again, despite the fact they were at the potential scrutiny of everyone else in the room.

Her sadness and worry was almost overwhelming, but his face remained passive; Eric wasn’t going to betray how he felt right now. Of course, he was glad that she wanted to tell him, but at the same time he knew he wasn’t entirely ready for what he was going to hear without wanting to go and find the man responsible for making her very obviously a shell of who she used to be.

Their small moment was interrupted, as Isabel had dumped Hugo crudely in front of Godric. Eric didn’t let go of Alice, but he watched the interaction play out, as was everyone else present.

His eyes narrowed when Godric wanted to let Hugo go. Something wasn’t right here, but he didn’t know if it was enough to worry himself with either. As much as he loved his maker, he couldn’t be certain right now if anything was  _ truly _ wrong.

“Eric, escort them out,” Godric called over to him. “Make sure  _ he _ leaves unharmed.”

“Yes, Godric,” he said, finally letting go of Alice and beckoning for Hugo and Isabel to come with him.

The two thousand year old vampire then crooked a finger at Alice and she came over, sitting on a foot stool that was next to him. The rest of the party returned to what they were doing.

“May I be privy to what you’re going to tell Eric?” he asked her. She blinked, unsure of what to say. “I didn’t meant to eavesdrop, but I want to know more about you. Even if it might be painful for you to recount, clearly.”

“That’s… that’s fine with me,” she agreed. “I was planning on telling Eric back at the hotel tonight, if you wanted to join us?”

He nodded, a gentle smile on his face. “I’d be happy to.” He paused for a moment, taking in Alice as she sat there; there was something incredibly off about her, and it took him a minute before he placed his finger on it. “Relax, Alice. You’re safe here.”

“Relaxing doesn’t come naturally to me, no matter how hard I try.”

“Oh, but she relaxes quite nicely when I’m done with her,” Eric said as he reapproached, and Alice went bright pink. “Hugo has been dispatched,” he then said to Godric, crouching in front of him. “I told him to not stop driving until he hit the Mexican border. I’ve also taken the liberty of arranging an AB-negative human for you… extremely rare.”

“Thank you, but I’m not hungry,” Godric replied quietly.

“You have to feed eventually… I doubt the Fellowship had anything to offer,” Eric had the ghost of a smirk on his face. 

It was odd to Alice how more vampire-like he could become with certain conversations and certain looks. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so beautiful, anyone could mistake him for a human most of the time, but right now… his entire aura screamed “vampire” at her; strange, because despite everything and  _ knowing _ he was a vampire, she had barely  _ noticed it. _

Godric still said nothing.

“Why wouldn’t you leave when I first came for you?” Eric questioned.

“They didn’t treat me badly.”

Eric glanced at Alice, as if for confirmation. “He didn’t look mistreated…” she said.

“Eric, you’d be shocked at how ordinary most of them are - but I know you don’t particularly care for ordinary…”

Alice’s brow knotted for a moment, as she realised Godric was referring to  _ her _ .

“They do nothing but fan the flames of hatred for us,” Eric continued the conversation.

“Let’s be honest, we  _ are _ frightening. After thousands of years, we still haven’t evolved - we’re only grown more brutal, more predatory. I don’t see the danger in treating humans as equals. The Fellowship of the Sun arose because we never did so - if anything, Eric, I’m glad you found Alice. You’re a little more lenient towards humans these days because of it and  _ that _ is you evolving. Ever so slightly.”

“Don’t,” Eric warned. “Don’t bring Alice into this. That’s not fair and has  _ nothing _ to do with you right now. Is this philosophy of yours why you wouldn’t fight when they took you?”

“I could have killed every single one of them in  _ seconds _ … and what would that have proven?”

That was a conversation killer if anything.

Eric looked severely displeased, while Alice was mildly uncomfortable watching them, nevermind being brought into the conversation as a test for Eric’s humanity. She was trying her best to quash her irateness towards Godric, which had been picked up by the younger vampire. It made him chuckle.

“Come on,” he stood up and held out his hand to Alice who gladly took it; she was able to take it without a vision coming to her, thankfully. Godric sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as they wandered away, knowing that he had caused a little upset.

“I know we’ve had a similar talk before, Eric, but please just reassure me about why you’re…  _ with me _ . For want of a better phrase!” she hissed at him as they walked back through to the main living room area, by the glass doors that led out into the garden.

“I wouldn’t have known you existed if you were normal, it’s true, but that is not the reason I’m sticking around.” He drew in a breath and cupped Alice’s face with his large hands, carefully. “Maybe I don’t mind other humans because of you. Maybe I’m with you because… it… it feels fine. It feels normal. Nobody’s broken the ice in me like this before, Alice…”

“This is… this is more than what we think it is, isn’t it?” she squeaked out, not even sure how she was able to form a coherent sentence. “I didn’t cross the world looking for something new, but… here we are.”

“If you’d rather be friends and stop the flirting and everything else, that’s  _ fine. _ I know you’re in two minds about this constantly but - I’m not looking for anything, either. But you’re right - here we are,” he told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I care about you a lot, and I’m fine with saying that out loud to you.”

She sighed, almost like she was content. “It’s just  _ easy _ doing anything with you. We don’t have to stop anything, we really do just need to… let it happen.”

There was a commotion going on over by the bar area in the room, and when they glanced over they saw Lorena; they promptly decided to ignore it.

“Whatever this is, it’s comforting,” Alice then said, her own hands reaching up to touch Eric’s. “It’s the most real thing I’ve felt in a year.”

“Alice, this is probably the most real thing I’ve felt since I was a human.”

“Ali,” she said suddenly. “You can call me ‘Ali.’ I only - I only let people I  _ really _ like call me that.”

“Ali…” the name seemed to roll of his tongue more nicely than ‘Alice’ did, and he liked the way it sounded. “Well,  _ Ali, _ let’s not let Godric know that he was right earlier on. Stay annoyed a little longer if you want to. I’ll keep it a secret.” Eric winked at her, and that one gesture made Alice forget the troubles of the past couple of days - exactly what she needed.

“Don’t let Sookie know,” she whispered.

“Don’t let Sookie know,” he agreed with her.

But that brief moment of relaxation was taken away from her, as a newcomer entered the room and demanded their attention. Eric dropped his hands from Alice’s face and stood partially in front of her, trying to keep her behind him.

“...My name is Luke McDonald,” said the man in the middle of the room. “I’m a member of the Fellowship of the Sun and I have a message for you all from Reverend Steve Newlin.”

He unzipped his jacket to reveal silver, wood and explosives, and he held up a trigger.

A moment later, he pressed it.

Everything went black after that.


	28. Explosion

The first thing Alice noticed was there was someone heavy and groaning on top of her. It took a couple of moments for it to register that it was Eric - fine, but he had taken the brunt of the silver bullets so that she was not harmed. She started to wriggle out from under him, realising that he was crushing her quite a bit.

The second thing she noticed was that her ears were ringing and her vision was going in and out of focus. She could just about make out cries of pain and people trying to calm each other down. The moment she got out from under Eric, Alice moved back against the glass door - which had no glass in it anymore.

So that meant the third thing she noticed was pain in her hands. What was it with her and stabbing herself by accident with glass shards? She stood up shakily, and that turned out to be quite a big mistake. Her head was swimming, and she could smell blood and charred flesh in the room.

Alice stumbled outside, her chest still hurting but she knew it wasn’t from the fact Eric had been half conscious on top of her. As she made her way onto the soft, dewy night time grass, she fell to ground, crying. Her entire head was throbbing, she felt like she was calling out in a fish tank her senses were so distorted and if anything that made the entire situation far scarier.

She kept herself upright by planting her injured hands firmly into the grass. Even feeling anything in her hands was difficult - everything was skewed and off-kilter. She wasn’t in control of her own body anymore and she had no idea what she could do about it.

Then her chest tightened dangerously, and she had a hand at her throat, desperately clutching for air that she was unable to breathe in properly. Alice started choking and coughing, trying to regain control but her eyesight was still blurry, and if anything the lack of oxygen was making her head pound and her ears ring even more.

Was she dying? Somehow, was she dying? The thought scared her, and the hand that was clutching at her neck went to her chest. She felt like it was going to implode, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Alice lay down on the ground, because it was easier than keeping herself upright. The grass felt so nice and cool against her skin, it would have soothed her were it not for the fact that black spots were dancing in front of her eyes erratically.

She tried to breath, but it hurt.  _ God _ it hurt so much. Was that just her throat closing up or was it extremely dry? It had been a while since she’d had an attack  _ this _ bad; the ones she’d had recently were nothing compared to this. She felt her body lurch violently and she managed to roll onto her front and lean up so that she could vomit. That cleared her vision for a moment and allowed the air to flow into her lungs again, but the sight of the sick in front of her made her panic even more.

Alice shuffled away from the mess, her choking and coughing noises beginning all over again as she couldn’t breathe. It was the same as before, except instead of the black spots coming in front of her eyes, she was enveloped by darkness quicker than she could think.

* * *

Eric was counting his lucky stars he’d only been hit with the silver bullets and not the wooden; he was still alive, but  _ fucking hell _ he forgot how much silver hurt when it was literally inside him. He counted about four different spots he’d been hit on his chest - worth it, because it meant Alice was unharmed beneath him.

His mind was clouded with the pain he was currently experiencing, and he couldn’t move much. He could feel the little woman wriggling out from underneath him. Good. He didn’t want to crush her, but he was also struggling himself right now. This… Luke was incredibly lucky that he was already dead, otherwise Eric would have ripped him limb from limb for entering his maker’s home.

God, the stench was unbearable. It was what made Eric sit up. A little clink on the ground told him that his body had begun pushing out the bullets and healing. He glanced around the room as it did its work - dead vampires and humans alike, injured vampires and humans alike. Godric made his way over, covered in dirt, as Eric most definitely was too.

The elder vampire held out his hand and helped Eric.  _ Clink, clink. _ Two more. One to go, and he’d be right as rain again.

“We lost Stan and a few others. Only a couple of humans died, the rest are injured,” he then said, and Eric nodded. At that point, and crushing, overwhelming amount of fear and panic hit him in one go.

“Ali…” he breathed. He glanced down at that spot on the ground where she  _ should _ have been, and then he looked out through the blown out glass doors. In the distance, he could see a figure lying on the grass, having wandered quite some way from the house.  _ Clink. _ The final one.

He sped out in the dark and ran as fast as he could towards Alice, just as everything in her faded. She’d passed out. That wasn’t good in the slightest. When he reached her, his nostrils were assaulted by the contents of her stomach that she’d brought up just moments previously before losing consciousness. He ignored it, trying not to let the disgust show on his face as he crouched down next to her.

He could hear her heart beating slowly - she was still alive, thankfully. He scooped her up in his arms and began to walk back to the house, getting to the doors just as Godric, Sookie, and Bill all stepped outside.

“Oh my god,” Sookie gasped. “Is she…?”

“She’s still alive, yes,” Eric said, exasperated. “See you back at the Carmilla.”

* * *

_ “You are… really something else, aren’t you?” _

_ Alice opened her eyes to find herself somewhere, but nowhere at the same time. Everything was white. There was nothing but white. She sat up, her head swimming as she did so. A woman was crouching opposite her, and Alice was taken aback by her appearance. _

_ The other woman looked like her, but leaner; more muscle. There was a permanent scrutiny to her face along with a knotted brow. _

_ “I’m sorry, who are you?” Alice asked. _

_ “My name is Atheleys. I was that feeling of a ‘whisper in your ear’ type thing the first time you went into Fangtasia. I’m also where the problem started in the family, about two thousand years ago,” she said, matter of factly. “And you’re probably less pathetic than you appear, but I’m not exactly watching over you like a guardian angel.” _

_ Alice narrowed her eyes at the other woman. “I’m sorry?” _

_ “I know things about you, just not enough to care or invest myself,” Atheleys then said, picking at her nails and sitting down on the ground cross legged, properly. “Before you ask why you’re here, it’s because… well you’re not dying. No, no, you just had a really bad panic attack, so I pulled you here to talk to you.” She paused for a moment, before realisation hit her. “Oh wait, because I pulled you here you might as well be dying.” _

_ Alice sighed deeply in response, questioning how she was going to possible deal with her ancestor. “Why and how?” _

_ “I’ll answer the second part first - kinda saw you were having a bad time, and just- yanked from the mortal plain! But I just made everything a lot worse for you by doing that - terrible sorry.” She didn’t seem sorry in the slightest. “The why? Well… seeing the future isn’t all we can do. I barely got to grips with it before I died. Or was killed. I’m not sure which it was…” _

_ “We can do more?” _

_ “You’ve got a really intense connection to that Eric guy.” There was a mischievous glint in her eye, like she wanted to have some fun with that, or attempt to make it more complicated that it already was. “When you get to test out that new little power, you’re going to find out so much about him if you’re not careful. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just you’re not good at controlling anything except anxiety - for the most part.” _

_ “What is it?” _

_ “It’s no fun if I tell you. Also cheating.” _

_ She eyed Atheleys oddly. “And how comes I can understand you? You were alive over two thousand years ago, language has changed so much since then!” _

_ The woman shrugged. “Magic? Anyway! I need to send you back. You’ve been here for too long for a person who’s alive. If there ever comes a time where you actually nearly die, we’ll talk!” _

_ With those final words, Atheleys snapped her fingers. _

* * *

Alice was gasping for breath when she regained consciousness, falling off a sofa in the process. Sofa? Where had that come from? She’d been on the grass, and now she was on carpeted floor- oh. The hotel. Her hands burned when she hit the floor, and she saw they were still slashed up from when she’d touched the glass.

God, it felt like she’d been hit by a bus. Her throat was sore too, and when she remembered why she almost started crying again. Except Eric had come over to help her up; the feeling of his strong but gentle hands on Alice’s shoulders helped her keep her cool instantly. She remained sitting on the floor while he squatted in front of her, biting down onto his wrist and offering it to her. She took his blood gratefully, glad to see her hands healing up and the throbbing in her face fading.

It didn’t really do anything to help the fact she was still feeling incredibly sick. She couldn’t even bring herself to talk; the idea of it was far too exhausting for her to consider. Either way, Alice didn’t need to communicate with Eric how she felt right now, and he knew exactly what to do because of it.

He gripped her by the forearms and led her towards the bathroom - she was still covered in soot and blood, and most definitely needed a shower. He hadn’t even cleaned up himself, yet, so they stripped off together and stepped under the warm water together.

Alice found it difficult to do most of the washing herself, so Eric did her the favour of making sure she was actually clean before focusing on himself. Everything was done in a mechanical, strange silence that neither of them felt comfortable with. He pulled her in for a hug, because she needed it. She needed some form of comfort and affection just to remind her that she was alright and it would be alright; if Alice wasn’t going to talk right now, Eric wasn’t going to force her to.

Soon after that, he switched off the water and they got out. She was, thankfully, able to dry herself off, so Eric wrapped his towel around his waist and left her be to go get her pyjamas, bringing them back to her. She gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement before he left the bathroom again to get dressed into something clean. The dirty clothes were tomorrow’s problem.

By the time they were both dressed, there was a knock on the door. Eric opened it to find Godric, still looking rather unkempt.

“How is she?” the elder vampire asked the moment the door was closed.

“Quiet,” Eric said, his gaze shifting to the bathroom as Alice came out drying her hair with the towel and wordlessly going over to the bed. “Well, silent. What about everyone else?”

“They’ve been accounted for and are fine. Sookie, Bill, and Jason are all back here now. They helped to make sure everyone got back safely - for the most part. I sent them off before we were finished.”

Eric nodded, about to respond when a coughing from the bedroom stole his attention. It was dry and rough, and Alice appeared to be discomforted as she rubbed at her throat. Ah. She had thrown up, after all. He fetched her a glass of water and she gulped it down quite eagerly.

“Thank you,” she said in a tiny voice when she was done.

“I think I prefer it when you can talk,” he remarked. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a bus,” she admitted. “Something… something weird happened when I was out of it, though.” Alice peeked round Eric to see Godric looking at her curiously. “Maybe when you’ve showered I can talk to the both of you about it?”

Godric nodded, and took that as his cue to go and use the bathroom.

Alice sighed deeply and placed her head in the palms of her hands, tired, and feeling like she was on the verge of crying again. Eric sat down on the edge of the bed next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Day after tomorrow we can go home and get back to normal,” he said. “You can… put this to the back of your mind.”

Alice nodded, looking up from her hands and doing a pretty good job at holding back the tears. She managed to give Eric a smile, albeit seeming forced, and pecked him on the cheek. “I think I need to get some proper sleep.”

“Agreed. Whatever you need to talk to us about can wait until tomorrow night,” Eric told her pointedly. “I’d rather not have you die on me.”

“I don’t think it’s possible to die from a panic attack. It just feels like I’m dying every time I have one,” she explained. Eric’s jaw went taut at that piece of information.

“Good to know. Get some rest.”

He stood up so that she could get settled into bed properly, going to turn off the bedroom light at the very least - if only there had been an actual door between the two rooms. Either way, Eric knew he and Godric would keep fairly hushed when they spoke. Not that there was much to talk about, except for how the fuck they were going to have to deal with the fallout of this fucking mess.


	29. Roof

_ She was walking down the hallway of the Hotel Carmilla, slowly, uncertain of what she would find when she got back to the room. Alice held a white tunic in her hands - Godric’s - and she brought it close to her chest. There was a strange emptiness inside her, and she couldn’t figure out why. _

_ Confused, she dropped the tunic. _

_ Still she walked, coming ever closer to the door of the room she stayed in with Eric. She had no key but she was able to push it open gently. As she stepped in, the door closed by itself behind her. _

_ Alice saw Eric sitting on the edge of the bed, bloody tears streaked down his face and onto his bare chest. She’d never seen him so sad before, and as she approached him he glanced up at her briefly. _

_ “Do I look weird to you?” he asked her quietly. _

_ “No,” Alice said, tears welling up in her own eyes. “You don’t. Eric, why are you crying?” _

_ “You know why,” he replied. _

_ Alice gulped. “Godric.” _

_ Eric nodded once. “Was it quick?” _

_ She faltered for a second. Had it been quick? Or had his death been drawn out? Had she even been looking? “I’m not sure,” she finally answered. _

_ He nodded again and stood up, coming to place cold hands on her shoulders. He said nothing and stared at her for quite some time, as if he was trying to calculate what was going through her mind. _

_ “You knew he was going to do this, didn’t you?” _

_ “I’m sorry,” a few tears slipped down her cheeks, but Eric simply wiped them away with his thumb. “He - he asked me not to say anything.” _

_ He remained silent, and Alice took the moment to reach up and wipe away his bloody tears, but it didn’t entirely work - her fingers were covered in his blood now, his cheeks stained pink. She knew he wouldn’t mind if she licked her own fingers clean - so that’s what she did. _

_ After that, there wasn’t anything else to do but to kiss him and remind him that she was still there; he gripped her tightly and led her to the bed, never breaking apart. _

_ All they had left now was each other. _

* * *

Alice awoke a little startled and her cheeks tinged pink. She knew it was day time from the fact that Eric was fast asleep with his arm draped over her stomach. She sat up carefully, the movement actually making him stir - that was odd. Or was it?

She realised that after the ending of that dream she was a certain amount of turned on. It made sense that Eric was particularly sensitive to her right now, even in his dead to the world state.

She took a few deep breaths to keep her head and heart steady. She spied Godric asleep on the sofa and she felt a pang go through her heart - why did he not get his own room with his own bed? Did it have something to do with the fact he was very willing to die right now and don’t particularly want to be on his own?

Alice wasn’t sure in the slightest.

She didn’t know if she wanted to get up and do something with her day. The dull aching in her body had really hit her now that she was sitting upright. Regardless, Alice forced herself out of bed and every movement made her joints scream. Unable to keep standing on her own two feet, Alice lowered herself to the floor by the bed for the time being.

She grabbed her phone from the bedside table - she was surprised that it was even there, and assumed that Eric had placed it there so when she woke up there was some sense of familiarity for her.

It was a little past midday, and she had a text from Sookie asking if she was alright. Alice shot one back saying she was okay for the most part, just hurting all over. That was a fair enough answer.

She ended up putting her mobile back on the bedside table and gently easing herself back into bed. Bed was good. Bed was safe. Eric was in bed. Eric was safe.

Alice slipped back under his arm and properly curled up into him, breathing in that comforting scent of his - something that reminded her of salt water and just  _ him _ \- before drifting off back to sleep.

It wasn’t dreamless, but it didn’t make her so terrified she woke up. No, there were flashes of  the previous night which made her toss and turn, except she didn’t wake up. Instead her brain processed it, muting out the more horrific parts. Eventually her mind calmed down, and she was sleeping soundly until someone roused her.

Eric.

He was wearing a black, tight, long-sleeved shirt with a pair of black jeans today - Alice hadn’t even been aware he owned any shirts other than tank tops. She sat up and peered at him with tired eyes, glancing over at Godric who was also dressed and ready. They both looked anxious, or at least anxious for a pair of ancient vampires anyway.

“We’re meeting with Nan Flanagan in about an hour. She’s pissed. It’s late, you need to get ready,” Eric explained.

“We can get food brought up for you as well, if you wanted,” Godric offered. Alice nodded as she got out of bed, stumbling as she did so. Eric caught her.

“I don’t feel so good,” she murmured as he helped her walk into the bathroom.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Eric sighed. “You did say last night it felt like you’d been hit by a bus. I don’t think that feeling goes away so easily. How hungry are you?”

“Um, I really want cereal. But it’s-”

“It’s midnight and you don’t think you can get cereal at that time?” he offered. “They’ll literally do anything for us here -  _ without _ the need for glamour, that is.”

There was something off about Eric; he seemed tetchier than usual. Whatever softness was there on the surface the previous night, it had retreated back into him to be replaced more with ice again. Alice frowned.

“Eric… are you alright?”

He didn’t answer her at first, only pressing his lips to her forehead for a couple of seconds and resting his nose in her hair. “Nan Flanagan is a piece of work,” he murmured against her. “I don’t want her finding out about what you can do. Get ready.”

Alice nodded dumbly as he pulled back and left the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a click. So she had an hour to mentally prepare herself for whatever shitstorm was heading their way. That was good, at least. That was enough time. If she needed to cry from worry she could at least do it in the shower and neither Eric or Godric would be the wiser to it.

She mentally slapped herself for thinking like that as she brushed her teeth. No, she was better than this. One bad night didn’t necessarily entitle her to tears for the rest of the week. It entitled her to be more careful about what she did and who she spoke to; it entitled her to being as comfortable as she could be and at least having warning about bad things for a few days; it by no means entitled her to feel sorry for herself.

She wanted to be done with that, she realised as she showered. When they were done with Nan Flanagan, Alice would tell Eric and Godric what had happened in her life and she would be done with keeping secrets from either of them.

Well… there was still the case of Godric wanting to meet the sun. She had no clue if that was still a thing he was planning on going through with. Eric had no clue about it, and she wondered if it was too late to mention anything.

After showering, she wrapped a towel around herself and poked her head around the door. She requested Eric to get her her clothes - Alice had no desire to get changed in front of Godric, she’d rather get dressed in the bathroom. The tall vampire nodded and came back over with a white sundress, some underwear, and her oversized cardigan.

Once she was decent, she head out into the lounge area drying her hair with the towel and feeling a little more refreshed. There was an empty bowl, a box of cereal, and a carton of milk waiting for her. She was very much aware of the fact that Eric and Godric were watching her every move as she ate; it was annoying. They’d stopped in their conversation. Why was it so fascinating for vampires to watch humans eat?

“Tell me,” Alice began when she was finished eating. “How bad is this all going to be?”

“Bad, but a lot worse if Flanagan knew or figures out what you can do - you’d get blame pinned on you for not being able to get people to safety,” Eric said, and her faced drained of colour. “Look, Godric and I discussed this while you were sleeping - Flanagan is a bitch, she’s not as nice as she appears on television.”

“Quite frankly, she would be looking for an excuse to pin this on someone connected to us,” Godric pointed out. “She wants there to be a balance between humans and vampires - we’re going to be more at fault here in her eyes. Come on, we should get going.”

* * *

Oh, Nan Flanagan was definitely a bitch.

Not only did the vampire care for Sookie or Alice’s tales about what happened at the Fellowship in the tale they told, she decided to revoke any power that Godric had. He was no longer Sheriff. The moment Eric tried to protest that decision, he was threatened with his removal of power.

He immediately shut up after that.

If anything, Eric was more shocked about Godric willingly handing himself over to the Fellowship, and Alice knew that that was going to spark an argument between the two of them once this meeting was over. The amount of regret that Godric expressed made her think that he was still going through with his plan, and she wondered if there was a chance she could talk him down. If Eric could talk him down, once he realised or was told.

Eventually, Flanagan left, Godric going with her to sign some documents that would officially relinquish him of his power. He told Eric and Alice to meet him on the roof once he was done.

Just as the pair were about to leave, Bill turned Eric round and swiftly punched him right on the nose. He was about to square up to the older vampire, when Alice jumped between the pair, gripping Eric’s thighs behind her and staring down Bill.

He was only a couple of inches taller than her, but her flaring nostrils made him back off a step.

“I don’t care what you think about this entire thing, but you don’t touch him again,” Alice told Bill in a deadly quiet voice. His jaw clenched as Sookie’s mouth dropped open at the redhead’s instant defence of Eric. “We already established it was a trap. I don’t think punches need to be thrown.”

“She’s got a point, Bill,” Sookie piped up, going over to her boyfriend and looping her arm through his. “See y’all back home once this has all cooled down?”

“Sounds good to me,” Eric replied dryly, and the other couple wandered out of the suite. He turned Alice round to face him, an eyebrow raised. He wiped a little blood away from under his nose, which was now in the process of fixing itself. “You’re feisty.”

“Only for those I’m loyal to,” she said.

“Something’s wrong with Godric.”

“I know. We should go see him.”

Eric nodded in agreement and they silently made their way to the roof. It was still dark out, but the talk with Flanagan had gone on for longer than any of them had wanted.

Godric was standing with his back to them, staring out over the city skyline. Alice hung back by the fire escape they had come through, watching as the two vampires communicated. The moment voices began to raise, Alice knew that Godric had told Eric what his plans had been, and would still be.

Eric dropped to his knees, and that was when she came running over. Godric was running his hand through Eric’s blonde locks, and Alice wrapped her arms around him, tears in her eyes.

“Godric. Please,” she whispered. “Don’t do it.”

The ancient vampire’s eyes flashed in warning at her, and that was when Eric turned his attention to her, his face bloody with tears. She’d given herself away at such a crucial time, and it was about to cause more problems.

“You… you knew?” he almost couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe that she had kept it from him.

“Eric, I asked Alice to keep it a secret,” Godric told him gently, but he still pulled away from the redhead. He overwhelmed her emotions with a sense of betrayal, shock, and sadness. Alice clutched at her chest, unable to breathe because this was the worst that his feelings had ever been to her. “Eric!” Godric then snapped at him, crouching down next to Alice and placing his hands on her shoulders, helping her stay upright.

“You should have told me,” Eric muttered, unimpressed. There was an anger bubbling under the surface - it wasn’t directed at anyone in particular, but the fact that it was still there unnerved Alice greatly. It made her crying become vocal as she was able to draw in oxygen again.

“I’m - I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I wanted - I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t. I thought that if we got Godric out, it would be fine… but - but it’s not!” She shrugged out of Godric’s grip and faced him. “Please,  _ please _ . There’s so much you could do for the world.”

He shook his head. “We’re monsters. I wish I had taught Eric differently: survival or death was not the way to do it. You’ve taught him about humanity more in a couple of months than I ever did over the years.”

Alice stared between the two of them, not sure what she could say. Was there even anything she could say that could convince Eric she was not at fault? Or for Godric not to go through with meeting the sun before their very eyes?

“Godric…” she whispered. “You’re a prime example of a vampire changing their ways. Eric and I need you, because - because well, neither of us are good at dealing with what I can do. And - and I know he finds it hard when I’m in a state. He needs someone to help him with that, and I need someone who knows how to help me be better at what I do.” She paused for a moment. “Rose would want you to live.”

Godric blanched, and a bloody tear formed at the corner of his eye. “I miss her. I could be with her again.”

“I know, I know,” Alice said softly, going to cup his cheek. “I think she missed you very much, Godric. I don’t think she thought you were a monster. She wouldn’t want you to do this.”

“How would you know what she wants?”

“I was close with her. And- and-” Alice took a breath before she told the pair of them something she had never wanted to admit to anyone. “I felt like this once too. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I didn’t want to live in fear of what  _ he _ would say to me, or could do to me. I didn’t want to hurt anymore. But something inside me told me ‘no’ and I think it was her. So I moved halfway across the world instead.”

Silence, besides the gentle sound of a breeze drifting through the city. Alice lowered her hand from Godric’s face as she felt Eric encircled her tightly, bringing her to sit on his lap and rest his forehead on her shoulder. It seemed as if he had forgotten his apparent anger, and wanted to comfort her instead. He was far more sensitive than she had even considered.

Godric’s face was stony, as he contemplated her words. “I wish you never had to feel like that, Alice.”

“I wish you never had to feel like that too.”

She was going to carry on talking, when she heard muttering coming from Eric. He was speaking in Swedish, and it sounded like he was saying the same word over and over again, except Alice didn’t understand. She looked at Godric, her brow knotted every so slightly.

“He’s saying ‘please.’”

Alice felt her heart shatter completely at that point. She’d never seen Eric desperate or begging, yet here he was doing just that. She swivelled round in his arms, causing him to lift his head from her. She kissed him on the lips briefly.

“Go inside,” she whispered. “Please. This might take some time.”

He shook his head.

“Eric, I don’t want you at risk from burning. I don’t want either of you out here.”

“I don’t want to lose either of you,” he replied softly.

“I don’t feel that way anymore,” she reassured him. “Do you trust me?”

He hesitated for a moment as he thought over her question, but nodded all the same. He slid her off his lap, stood up, and walked inside. Alice breathed a sigh of relief, and allowed Godric to help her up.

“You love him, don’t you?” Godric asked, and she let out a dry laugh through her tears.

“We’re not doing this now. Even if I do, it doesn’t matter - he’s not the kind of person to feel the same way. I don’t want an actual relationship, I don’t want to label what I have with him.”

“He’s good for you. He’s helping you more than you think,” he mused. Alice shrugged, knowing he was right. Either way, Eric didn’t feel confident in himself with that side of things and would rather Godric be there for guidance and because… well. It was Godric. His maker. There was nothing that could replace him or that relationship.

“Eric would do anything for you,” Alice said. “The amount of respect he has for you is… is just ridiculous. Please, Godric, I’ve had to talk myself down from this situation before - don’t do this.”

He sighed, taking hold of her hand. She wasn’t expecting it, and something flashed before her eyes - blackness, but also…

_ Godric in Fangtasia? _

She squeezed her eyes shut tight as it made her head pound. Did she just witness two possible futures?

When Alice opened her eyes again, Godric was staring at her with his mouth agape. He hadn’t been expecting that - he hadn’t been expecting his current state of mind to potentially betray him while Alice wasn’t concentrating properly.

“You’re thinking about changing your mind,” Alice said. “What… what’s making you reconsider?”

He licked his lips for a moment before answering. “I’m not sure. Perhaps you’re right - I can be a good example to all vampires. I could do something good with what I’ve gone through, couldn’t I?”

Alice was nodding her head eagerly. “Yes. There’s probably so many others out there thinking along the same lines as you, and you could help them. Maybe that’s what you were meant to do - maybe you’re meant to help others for the rest of eternity.”

“Would helping others be a better way of repenting than burning?”

“Giving yourself up to the sun doesn’t help anyone,” Alice said, a small smile coming to her face as she watched Godric’s expression go through the motions. “There’s other ways of repenting, and stepping away from the monster you think you are - because you’re  _ not _ a monster, and you are not deserving of death. When you were made a vampire you were given another chance at life, so to speak.”

He scoffed. “I didn’t use that chance very well for two millennia.”

Alice gripped Godric by the shoulders, as if wanting to shake the thoughts out of him even though she knew that was impossible. “But you live you have another two millennia to make up for it. You have all the time in the world, and I’ll be with you for as long as I can. Eric and Pam will be with you forever. You talk to  _ us _ if you feel like this earth is undeserving of you.”

“Did you ever talk to anyone?”

“At the time, no. Nobody knew what I was going through because I had to hide it in case I wasn’t believed. I don’t want you to be alone like I was,” she said quietly, pulling him into a hug. He was surprised by the gesture at first, but slowly snaked his arms around the petite woman, glad for it.

Godric had never expected to receive so much compassion for a human that he had only met a couple of days ago. He had never expected Eric to be with someone so kind. Seeing the pair of them interact over the past two days assured him that it was possible to even break the shell of the most hard to read vampire.

“You have me, Eric and Pam,” he said. “I don’t think you’ll be alone ever again.”

Alice pulled away, her eyes threatening to spill more tears as she smiled at him. The sky was beginning to lighten now - sunrise was early in the summer.

“Can you forgive me?” Godric asked. “For every bad thing I’ve done, and for putting you through this?”

“Of course I can. I think Eric will too.”

“If I choose to die, would God forgive me?”

“I don’t believe in God, but I’m certain he would.”

“What about Rose?”

“Yes and no,” Alice said after some thought. “Yes, because everyone deserves to be forgiven. No, because she would probably rather you be alive.”

Godric nodded. As he stood next to her watching the sky begin to lighten as the sun drew near to the horizon, he breathed in deeply.

“You smell like the sun,” he said, in awe of her. “You’re Eric’s sunshine.”

“I can be yours too.”

“No. Never,” he said, grinning. “I don’t think Eric wants to share you.”

Alice’s lips twitched upwards in a half smile, but then she sniffed as she tried holding back more tears while watching the sky. “How much longer have we got?”

“Minutes.”

“What do you want to do?”

Godric was silent as he contemplated his choice. He could ensure there was one less monstrous vampire in the world, or he could repent for his personal sins and help others. He wasn’t sure which once was going to be the better option but he had to make up his mind right now. He couldn’t let himself live or die in two minds and potentially repeat this process every night for goodness knows how long.

Perhaps they did need him - Eric and Alice - perhaps they did need his help. With her powers, and with their own relationship. They were in such denial in regards to each other, it amused him greatly. If he lived, he could see the great vampire Eric truly could become; if he lived, he could see Alice heal; if he lived, he could be of use to so many, everywhere in the world.

Death would prevent him from all of that.

Maybe…

Maybe this was his  _ third _ chance at life.

You never got more than three chances, did you?

“Alice?”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s go back inside.”


	30. Reunion

However Alice expected the two vampires to reunite, it hadn’t been the way she was expecting.

Whenever Eric was antsy or debating whether or not to unleash his anger, he had a tendency to stalk up and down a room, his shoulders hunched over. He looked menacing as he paced, and that was how Alice and Godric found him.

The emotions that went through his face were something else upon seeing Godric. Alice had never seen him express them so openly; he was impassioned as he brought his maker into the tightest embrace possible. So overwhelmed was he that Alice was too. She ended up curling up in a ball on the sofa as she watched the two vampires interact.

There was an ancient respect between them. Eric eventually ended up on his knees and kissing Godric’s knuckles as they both weeping with joy and relief.

It was the most beautiful thing to behold; an old and wise bond that could be likened to that of a father and his son; a passionate flame relit that could be likened to that of two ex-lovers. There was so much between them that Alice would never even begin to understand, but had a hefty respect for it herself.

She cried too, uncertain if that was her own emotion or Eric’s. She was so lost in the moment and her own thoughts that she barely noticed them come over and sit her up so they could hug her. They held her tightly but carefully because they could so easily crush her.

“How did you do it?” Eric asked after a few minutes, the pair of them breaking away from her.

“Alice made the point that there may be other vampires in my situation - even though I spent two thousand years killing, I can spend two thousand years doing good. I can rectify it. I was give a second chance at life, but the third time’s a charm, isn’t it?” Godric said with a smile, wiping his bloody tears away with the sleeve of his tunic.

“Nobody should have to go through something like that alone,” the woman said. “He doesn’t have to. We have each other, right?”

“Of course we do, sweetheart,” Eric said, kissing her on the cheeks, before wiping his own face with the back of his hands. “Always.”

“Alice…” Godric said seriously. “As much as I want this to… joyful, you have something to share with myself and Eric, don’t you?”

She gulped, a little shocked by the sudden change in subject, but nodded all the same. She gripped Eric’s hand tightly.

“You said you felt like me, once. Why?”

She shook her head. “Not now,” she said quietly. “Please. This isn’t the time, I’m already - it’s been too emotional a night as is.”

“Agreed,” Eric piped up, understanding that there were better moments for that kind of conversation. He’d only just gotten Godric back - he didn’t want to potentially ruin that and make him change his mind with such awful talk.

The elder vampire nodded in agreement. “Alright. Then what happened the other night? After you came back to the hotel?  _ That _ seemed important.”

“Oh, um…” Alice racked her brains a little as she tried to perk herself up. “I spoke to Atheleys. You met her once, didn’t you?”

Godric’s jaw may as well have hit the floor. He collected himself after a few moments, though, not wanting to be too distracted by his own shock. Eric was just as bemused by that sudden revelation.

“How…?”

“Her explanation was magic. She looked very similar to me, but was the completely opposite in every regard. She told me that there was  _ more _ to what I can do - something else, but it would be more fun if I found out for myself. Do you know anything about that?”

“Rose dipped her toes into it,” Godric replied thoughtfully. “But never mastered it. She didn’t want to.”

“What was it?” Alice edged closer to Godric, eyes wide with curiosity. He had to hold back a smile as she looked like a small child when doing that.

“It’s complicated, Alice. I never fully understood it myself - my suggestion would be to wait until you experience it.”

Her shoulders sank, and she shuffled back towards Eric. Not the answer she’d been hoping for, clearly.

“It’s unnerving you were able to talk to her,” Godric continued. “If it happens again, be careful. Please.”

Alice’s brow knotted and her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“She wasn’t particularly friendly when I met her,” Godric sounded tetchy when he said that. Eric and Alice glanced at each other but said nothing else; that line was a conversation killer on its own.

After that talk turned to something a little cheerier, despite the fact both vampires were now experiencing the bleeds. Since Godric had no power in Dallas and his home had effectively been ruined, the plan was for him to come back to Shreveport with them - it was only right. Eric had plenty of room in his home.

Despite only being awake for a short amount of time, Alice found herself exhausted from the night’s events and barely took part in their chat about what Godric could do when they got back...

She wasn’t sure when she dropped off to sleep, but she roused for a few seconds when being placed in bed, as well as when she rolled over onto Eric to cuddle him. Barely conscious, all she wanted was him. She fell into a dreamless sleep when he wrapped an arm around her. Maybe the dreamless sleep was down to him being there - lucky, really. She would be thankful for it too on waking up.

In fact, she didn’t even wake up on her own.

Her sleeping pattern had ended up matching the vampires, so she slept through the entire day. She was woken up by Eric nuzzling her cheek about ten minutes before sunset; nuzzling that turned into lazy, sloppy kisses over her face and eventually her lips.

Well, she was certainly grateful for a distraction so that she didn’t have to think about what had transpired earlier.

Alice reciprocated the kisses in earnest, to the point that Eric moved on top of her, leaning on the bed with an arm as he did so. She looped her arms around his neck after he got comfy there, and he gently took hold of her chin as he got a little more enthusiastic.

She couldn’t help but appreciate how cold his lips were against her own, moving with a calm force that told her he was being careful, but goodness how he wanted  _ more. _ His tongue parted her lips and darted in and out of her mouth every so often, eliciting a small moan from Alice. He let go of her chin so that his hand could make it’s way between her legs, a slender finger drifting up and down the smooth skin of her inner thigh.

Alice was - literally and figuratively - the softest woman he had ever felt in his life. No matter how much her hands so desperately grabbed at him; no matter how she would nip lightly at his lips and tongue, the actions were still always done with a soft fondness behind it. She was uncertain of herself in that regard, uncertain of how he would react to her from time to time. She was soft in how she felt beneath him, her skin so delicate and breakable - it was skin he never wished to see ruined, even by his own skill of lovemaking.

Eventually, Eric rubbed his finger against the fabric of her underwear, smiling against her when he could feel how wet she was; she could feel the amusement flow through their bond. Alice would have rolled her eyes at him had he not slipped his finger past the fabric and inside her, causing her to gasp a bit louder than he would have liked. He broke away from her a moment, and hushed her, glancing back over his shoulder towards where Godric was sleeping.

He bent down so that his lips were next to her ear, cold, but warm with a breath that was unnecessary. “When you come, you’re doing to do it without a sound, darling,” he purred, and Alice’s breath hitched in her throat. He smirked, and remained pressed against her body as he pumped that singular finger in and out of her, stroking her inner walls as he did so. He was still resting with his elbow on the bed beside her so that his full weight wasn’t on her, and so that he could see her keep her lips shut tight.

She was  _ painfully _ frustrated at not having to make a sound. Her bosom was heaving with every deep breath she took through her nose, and she refused to break eye contact with him.

Feeling a little daring, Eric added a second finger.

Alice bucked her hips up in that delightful way he so enjoyed watching and feeling her do, and a low chuckle spilled from his lips. He slowly dotted delicate kisses on her cheek, feeling her pleasure begin to ride up and up and up.

He knew when she was about to reach her peak, and when she did he clamped his lips back over hers so that any sound she could have made was entirely muffled. Eric was still surprised that Alice kept quiet, but she was wriggling an awful lot underneath him as her body was unable to control itself as she came.

Her hands came back up to grip Eric’s hair as she became a lot more forceful with her kiss; the softness behind it had gone as she tried to regain some control over herself. Alice hooked a leg around his waist, managing to pull him closer - if that was even possible - and he chuckled again. She was getting greedy, she wanted  _ more _ , but considering the sun had set and Godric was going to be up…

Eric denied her that.

For now, he was going to leave her with only one orgasm, and it had near enough been ridden out. Eric removed his fingers from her and wiped them clean on the sheets - they were leaving in a couple of hours, he truly didn’t care about the mess they left right now.

Eric moved off of Alice, getting her leg off of him in the process, and merely stared down at her with a mischievous look on his face from his spot next to her. Her cheeks were pink and her lips were fuller, and she had a mildly faraway look in her eyes that she desperately was trying to refocus.

“Are you two finished or do I still need to pretend to be asleep?” A quiet voice echoed across the lounge to the bedroom.

Alice groaned and clapped her hands over her face in embarrassment as it turned a similar shade to that of her hair. Eric sat up and looked to the window - the blinds were up now and it was completely dark outside.

“These suites  _ really _ need doors between the rooms,” he remarked, getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom, flicking on the lights in the process.

Alice refused to sit up and acknowledge Godric; she ended up bringing the covers up over her face as she heard him wander over.

“He’s done far worse - far worse with me, actually. Don’t be embarrassed,” he said. The bed dipping next to Alice told her he’d perched himself on the edge of it. She peeled out from under the covers at him - he looked like he was about to laugh.

“Are you sure?”

“I mean, even if I hadn’t awoken and heard movement, I would have been able to smell it regardless.”

“That doesn’t help!” Alice hid her face once more. “He’s such a menace.”

“Yes. He is. A menace who likes you very much.”

Alice made another noise of discontent.

How she couldn’t wait to get home and away from Godric’s teasing.


	31. Winner

Being back in Shreveport was a delight to Alice.

It was a chance to get back to a normal routine.

Eric had most certainly done a number on her students and families. They hadn’t even noticed she’d been gone for about six days, which she found amusing yet highly disturbing. Vampires really were a level of powerful that nobody could comprehend. Either way - it meant she could get back to business as usual. Hopefully. Before something else ridiculous popped up.

That first day of being back was wonderfully relaxed. She was able to drive around and do her usual thing of tutoring. She knew she’d see Eric later that evening. She felt a lot calmer and like she was able to move past what happened in Dallas.

She got back home later than normal, as she’d had to go and do a food shop - that meant clearing out the fridge of anything that might have turned unsavoury in her time away. She’d not been able to sort that out beforehand.

So it definitely came as a surprise to Alice to find Eric sitting on the front porch when she got home. It wasn’t that long after sunset, why was he here already? She was expecting him later on. It left a sinking feeling in her stomach, like something was wrong.

Either way, as Alice got out the car and started to unload the boot of the few bags of shopping that were in there, Eric quietly came to her assistance, taking the bags so that she could unlock the front door and lead the way to the kitchen. While she packed everything away, he went to lock up the car, and proceeded to lean in the kitchen archway upon coming back in.

“Is something wrong? You’re here earlier than normal,” Alice commented, making a face as she tossed away a few mouldy food items from the fridge.

“Hmm? No. I know you were expecting to see me this evening but I need to show Godric the ropes at Fangtasia,” he explained. “Hence why I’m here earlier. He and Pam won’t be heading off for another hour or so.”

Alice nodded, washing her hands as she disposed the last of the off bits of fruit and vegetables. She dried them off and started putting the fresh items in the fridge, thinking of her next question.

“So… what’s the plan, then?” she asked broadly.

“What do you mean?”

“Me… you… Godric knowing stuff about me - where do we all fit in together?” Alice shut the fridge and leaned back against it, her arms folded.

Eric pursed his lips a moment, because he hasn’t considered that factor yet. “You still get to see me every night. Godric needs to settle into the area properly, and once he does he can join us once or twice a week. He’s agreed to help out at Fangtasia for the time being to keep occupied until he feels ready to… help… suicidal vampires,” Eric frowned as he said that. That last sentence sounded strange rolling off his tongue.

“Okay… that sounds good,” Alice agreed.

“Why’d you ask?”

She shrugged, a little smile coming to her face now. “Just curious. Although… I was going to request if you could stick about tonight - don’t worry if you can’t.” Alice had stepped over to him while talking, and was fiddling with the zipper on his jacket for a moment before sliding her arms around his waist, her eyes becoming big and round as she stared up at him.

He narrowed his eyes down at her in a joking way, knowing exactly what she was getting at. “Listen, sweetheart, this is just a brief visit. I came by to drop something off.”

While Alice was still attached to him, Eric reached inside his jacket pocket and brought out a slip of paper. She removed one arm from around him and took it, staring at the piece of paper. Her jaw dropped.

“This is - Eric, this is too much! I didn’t even ask for anything!” She pressed the cheque against his chest, trying to make him take it back. He wasn’t having it.

“Compensation,” he then said. “For getting hurt. I know I said I’d give you money for that much. So take it. You can save it for a rainy day.”

Eric clutch at her hand on his chest and pushed it back towards her. Alice had managed to close her mouth at this point, and took the now crumpled cheque - albeit unhappily. Once he’d let go of her hand, she reached behind him to place it on the kitchen table before resuming her previous positions of cuddling him.

“Thank you,” she whispered, standing up on tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek - only, Eric moved his head so that she brushed his lips with her own instead. The sneaky action surprised her for a moment, but she got him back by actually deepening the kiss, removing her arms from around his waist to instead loop them around his neck.

Obviously, Eric took that as a challenge.

How long could they keep outdoing each other in terms of trying to shock one another? How far would they go before giving up? He didn’t have much time before he had to head over to Fangtasia, but…

She was starting to slip his jacket off, and he let her discard it so crudely on the kitchen floor. All the while, Alice’s fingers had purposefully brushed gently down his arms as she did so, leaving nothing but a tingling sensation that would have become goosebumps were he a human. Being with Alice made him feel close enough to that fact.

In earnest response he gripped her upper arms, flipping them round so that she was the one now leaning against the table. He gently raised her up onto it, his tongue flicking at her lips and begging to grant him entrance - Eric Northman didn’t normally beg, but she was keeping her mouth off limits to him. She was still trying to keep the upper hand here, especially since he’d moved her.

So instead, one of Eric’s hands drifted round to the front of her dress and began to undo each button. Easy. He’d have that off of her in no time and she’d be left in her underwear; completely exposed, because anyone with less clothes on held just that bit more of vulnerability. Besides, she was in a safe environment with him as any vulnerable feeling would be purely because of the dance to be in charge of what was going on here: if he was in charge, she would be at his mercy, and Eric knew Alice had enjoyed that previously.

Of course, he had taken off her dress in that time and dropped it onto his jacket on the floor, but it meant that she was now reciprocating in kind, but trying to get his tank top off. They stopped in their fervent kissing for a moment so that Eric could remove his top.

Then they stared at each other, breathing heavily, uncertain of who was going to make the next move.

Eric came to stand between Alice’s legs properly, his hands coming round to rest on her back as he pressed her against him entirely. Skin against skin. Her warmth soothing his cold, dead heart. The moment his lips touched hers again, her breath melted away part of the ice that was always and forever going to be a part of him; this was his reprieve from that. She was why he could relax from time to time and forget about his duties.

God, he wanted her badly. He could feel his erection against her, and he knew he was going to need her soon.

He did the job of removing Alice’s bra. He thumbed her nipples slowly, and it made her forget their little game entirely. Her breaths escalated to those quiet moans he enjoyed so much, moans that became just that louder when he left a trail of kisses across her jaw, down her neck, on her collarbone, and finally landing his lips and tongue over her breasts in place of his hands. He took hold of her thighs, squeezing the flesh there gently every time she made a noise when he licked and sucked at her just right.

She ran her fingers through his hair, and he stopped in his motions for a moment; Eric shut his eyes in content and rested his forehead against her chest, enjoying the soft movement of her touching him like that. It was almost loving. Almost, if she had not been trying to push his head towards her legs.

He came back up to kiss her, and ripped off her underpants in one swift motion - he probably shouldn’t make a habit of it, but he was going to regardless - making her bite down and tug on his lip ever so slightly. A growl fell from his lips, and he nipped at her in kind.

Alice reached down to unzip his trousers and release him, deciding that yes - now was definitely the time to actually start fucking her, so she guided him inside her. Her back arched when Eric was completely inside, before she was lying back on the table and he was leaning over her with his hands resting on either side of her.

Eric started off gentle with his thrusts, setting a good pace to get Alice even more worked up than she already was. She was so warm and comforting around him, and he couldn’t help but let his fangs drop when she wrapped her legs around his waist and dug her nails into his back in an effort to keep some kind of grip on him. He teased her by dragging a tooth across the base of her neck, and she squirmed under him.

After that, Alice began to move her hips in motion with him; that action alone signalled to Eric that she was begging for him to go faster, that she was desperate for him to give her that sweet release.

Not yet.

She was hot and writhing under him, her noises becoming - somehow gracefully and demurely - louder and louder, and he wanted her to be sweating and aching by the time he was done with her. She was all that mattered to him at that current moment in time; the way she felt, and what he did with her.

Who cared if he was late to Fangtasia? Who cared if he even went at all at this point? Pam was a big girl, she could be on her own with Godric tonight.

He knew she was reaching her peak. He was getting close too. So Eric sped up - not in the vampiric way, but in a more human way; in a way that Alice would most likely have the best experience. Her body was beginning to slick with sweat as she tried to keep pace with him, and the moment they were both ready to be one together and with absolutely nothing, he bit her neck hard.

They cried out; her saying his name, and he making a muffled sound as he drank her blood. Her back arched again, making their chests press together entirely. The table rocked a little unsteadily with the force of the both of them and the slightly crumpled cheque fell to the floor. She gnawed with a canine at his neck so that she could drink him in wholly and fully.

As they rode out the high together, Eric had never felt such a wonderful moment of peace with someone for a while. This wasn’t just ordinary fucking, this was borderline love making. This was, without a doubt, the most feeling he’d ever personally felt while with someone. He’d never felt so human in his long, long life.

And it was all because of her.

They didn’t make as much of a mess as the last time, but the kitchen table would need some clean up.

When they were done, he stood there still inside her, still leaning above her, but they weren’t pressed up against each other anymore. No, Eric was looking down at the hot mess that Alice currently was. Sweaty, sticky, and most of her body was flushed. Her cheeks turned redder when she realised he was admiring her, and she made to sit up.

Eric straightened up and slipped out of her, tucking himself back into his trousers and doing them up, before helping Alice. She was shaky, just as he wanted her to be. She didn’t seem to be able to sit upright without his help.

“You might need to carry me upstairs,” she said breathlessly, but flirtatiously batting her eyelashes at him.

“Oh really?” Eric raised an eyebrow at her, but scooped her up into his arms all the same and sped up to her room. He set her down on the bed, pricking his own finger with a fang and healing up the little holes in her neck before retracting them.

“What now?”

“I should go to Fangtasia…” Eric started, playing with her red locks. “But… I have a beautiful, naked woman in front of me. Who I just fucked. But I’d like to fuck again. Or something else.”

As he said those words, he dropped to his knees in front of Alice and set himself between her legs again. He planted kisses on her breasts and down her belly before he dipped his head between her thighs so that he could pay attention to that spot she had wanted him to pay attention to earlier.

As Eric’s tongue flicked at her clit, Alice’s head rolled back in pure, shaky delight; she still hadn’t come down from her first orgasm, so that area was still incredibly sensitive. It didn’t help that Eric was incredible when it came to anything sexual.

He knew exactly how to make this last.

One of his hands came to splay on her belly, pushing her back to lie down on the bed - she didn’t need to be sitting up, no, he was doing all the work again - and it stayed there, keeping her lying flat. Once again, Alice toyed with Eric’s messy, blonde hair, and that just seemed to spur him on.

By the time she was reaching her second orgasm - it had come around much quicker than the first - Alice was in that unbearable hell of being so overwhelmed with her own contentment, she couldn’t stop writhing. It made Eric’s job a little more difficult, but he got there in the end. Her sweet joy reverberated through their bond to him, and it could have knocked him down had he not had an iron resolve.

When she was done again, he crawled up onto the bed next to her, enveloping her in an embrace. She lay there panting and feeling sleepy, trying her best to stay conscious.

“I don’t think I’ll be leaving you tonight…” Eric purred in her ear. “You win.”

Grinning, Alice managed to find some strength in her to flip over and sit straddling Eric’s waist, her hands pressed against his chest.

“I’ll always win when it comes to you.”

He scoffed. “You’d think that, but no. I know for a fact that I’ve won overall.”

Alice’s brow knotted. “How so?”

“Well…” Eric took her hand, locking his fingers among her own. “I have you.”

She was taken aback by the statement. “Careful now, you don’t want people to think you’re monogamous.”

Eric chuckled. “Too true. Perhaps I should hire more attractive dancers… just to make sure people don’t start asking questions.”

“Or don’t do that. I’d get jealous.”

“Male dancers?”

“Eric… aren’t you bisexual.”

He sat up, being careful not to knock her off his lap. “I have you. I don’t need to look at anyone else. Just surround myself with attractive people to make it look like that’s all I care to look at, when really it’s you.”

She blushed again. “You’re being far too cute right now.”

He made a face. “It’s not cute. It’s the truth. You… you’ve made me feel something I’ve not felt in a long time. I don’t know what it is, but I feel that bit more human.”

“How do you feel about that?”

Eric shrugged, kissing her on the lips for a second. “Getting used to it.” He paused for a moment. “Now come on: if I’m not going to Fangtasia, I’d at least like to have you in every part of your home.”


	32. Sophie-Anne

When Eric returned home later that night sans tank top, Godric and Pam knew exactly why he hadn’t shown up at Fangtasia. Instead of berating him, they had one hundred percent expected it. They were sat waiting for Eric in the lounge, looking at him rather expectantly once he got in.

He sighed and sauntered into the room.

“Probably should have called…” Eric murmured, running a hand through his unkempt hair in an attempt to neaten it out. “But I’m assuming everything was fine this evening?”

“When the humans found out Godric was twice your age, they loved it,” Pam said with a smirk. “He was on the throne for most of the evening. Not as scary as you, but… it worked well enough.”

Eric gave her a curt nod and turned to his maker.

“You’ve done well for yourself,” Godric said, standing up. He was wearing all black - turtleneck, trousers, and blazer, the works - he definitely would have fit in at Fangtasia that evening. Pam had done a terrific job in such a short space of time with him. He actually looked powerful again, in comparison to Dallas. “Although… why did I find a box filled with vials of vampire blood in the office, Eric?”

He and Pam glanced at each other, groaning. The taller vampire sank down onto one of the sleek leather sofas, stretching out his long form in casual form of tiredness. This was  _ not _ what he wanted to be dealing with right now.

“If I told you it wasn’t mine you wouldn’t believe me - well, the blood itself is mine, but I am  _ not _ selling it because I need to,” Eric explained.

“We’re being made to sell it,” Pam added. “Under the Queen’s orders.”

Godric’s nostrils flared for a brief moment. “That’s treason. You can’t say that.”

“You haven’t even pledged your fealty to her yet; at the moment, you’re in my area as my guest. We should probably sort that out. Don’t pull the treason card on me,  _ bror. _ ”

Godric then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why are you selling vampire blood for the Queen?”

Eric shrugged. “She made us do it, there wasn’t really any time for questioning it.”

The older vampire facepalmed, trying to retain some form of composure. “ _ Eric _ …”

“Okay, fine, _ maybe _ we should have tried to stand our ground,” Pam chimed in. “But she knew something was up with Eric and -- well, we’re sort of being blackmailed about it.”

Godric lowered his hand, his eyes darting between the two on the sofa, confusion crossing his face. “You’re being  _ blackmailed _ ?”

“I think she knows about Alice but won’t say anything about it.”

“Who would have told her?”

“Bill Compton,” Eric said. “He’s slimy enough to attempt to sell me out along with Alice. As to why? I’m not sure. Maybe he’s trying hard to protect Sookie Stackhouse.”

“Would he really go to such lengths?” Godric frowned.

“I think he’d do anything for Miss Stackhouse - I can understand why he’d throw me under the bus, but Alice? He’s a fucking idiot to even try it.”

“Does Bill know what she can do?”

“Yes.”

“How much does he know?”

“Less than me.”

Godric nodded and began to pace up and down the living room with his hands clasped behind his back, trying to think of something. As much as he wanted to not do anything drastic, the situation at hand would have to be an exception. His child and grandchild were being blackmailed, and there was a chance the Queen could come after Alice.

“Then we have to take Bill Compton out of the equation - sensibly, mind you,” he shot Eric a warning glance. The blonde vampire rolled his eyes. “Eric, I mean it. No bloodshed. If there’s way we can have him out of the state for an extended period of time, that would be our first port of call.”

“That’ll only work if he’s not directly working for the Queen,” Eric said pointedly. “My theory of him being a tattle tale is just that - a theory.”

“Then find out. Whatever it takes.” Godric was truly showing the power that he had; were they not in Eric’s area, he would have been fine with it. In fact, he would have encouraged it more to the point that Godric would allow harm to come to Bill, except he knew that would never be the case again.

Also, he was in Eric’s area now, and technically speaking -- Godric couldn’t really tell him what to do.

“Until you swear fealty, Godric, you can’t make the orders around here. Even then I would still be your sheriff,” Eric told him patiently. He didn’t want to upset his maker - he just needed to make sure the law was still abided in his area.

Pam rolled her eyes - this family was something else.

“Then respectfully, Sheriff Northman, I would encourage you to go about this situation sensibly and without the need for hurting anyone. Especially if Bill is merely trying to look out for Miss Stackhouse,” he replied just as coolly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rest for the day.”

He left the room without another word and Pam huffed.

“Is this gonna be a dick measuring contest now?” she asked Eric, clearly not happy with how the ending of the conversation went down.

“I don’t want my methods to go soft just because Godric’s here.”

“True. You’re already soft enough for Alice - no, wait, you were pretty hard for her tonight, weren’t ya?” Pam smirked.

“Every room in her house, Pam, every room in her house…” He was suitably impressed with himself. “She’s sleeping well tonight, that’s for sure.”

“And she’ll ache wonderfully in the morning,” she added. “She doesn’t know about any of this, does she?”

Eric shook his head. “It’s on a need to know basis - until we can prove that Bill is ready to throw her under the bus, she doesn’t need the extra worry. Let her have a few days peace.”

“Yah. You’re soft for her. Try and hide it from the main public, please?” Pam stood up and took her leave to go down for the day. Eric rolled his eyes as she left. He was fully aware he couldn’t let the majority of his Area find out he was more or less becoming monogamous with a human. Not that he cared that much if they did, he just couldn’t - there was always the chance that would make Alice a target, and he wasn’t going to have that.

Those were the thoughts that occupied Eric’s mind as he went to sleep for the day.

He didn’t dream that often, but tonight he dreamt of the brightest ginger-red hair reflecting the sunlight and sparkling green eyes; he was with Alice in daylight and it was the most bizarre scenario his mind could come up with, which was perhaps why it only came to him in hazy flashes. 

When the moon rose in his dream, he could smell summer and an otherworldliness on her skin.

Eric woke up that night somewhat shaken, and a little perturbed. Despite the dream being broken up, it had been vivid enough to leave the ghost of summer in his nostrils.

He didn’t dare mention it to Godric or Pam after they all got ready and headed to Fangtasia in companionable silence; although Eric’s silence when they arrived at the bar was deafening. Godric ended up pulling him aside.

“Something is trouble you, bror,” he murmured as they pretended to tend to stock in the office.

“It’s nothing,” Eric replies tersely. “I’m fine.”

Godric wasn’t buying it. “Eric…”

“I dreamt about Ali last night.”

“Ali?” He raised an amused eyebrow, and Eric shot him a look to suggest that now was not the time to be teased about that. “I’m sorry. In what capacity did you dream about her?”

“In sunlight. I can still smell it - summer.”

“I see,” Godric said after a moment’s thought. “Well… you were with her quite intensely last night, weren’t you? Pam mentioned something earlier before you came downstairs about every-“

“Every room in the house, yes.” He had to fight back a smirk. He was far too proud of himself for that, and even more proud of the fact the little lady had lasted through it all.

The brunette vampire was silent again, debating what to say next. “She must be exhausted.”

Eric chuckled. “I hope so, otherwise I didn’t tend to her properly. But… back to the point. I’ve never seen her in sunlight: how could I  _ possibly _ dream about that?”

Godric shrugged. “You’re connected with her in many ways. Perhaps you were dreaming of something you desire with her.”

At that point, Pam sauntered in. She didn’t look happy - in fact, she looked visibly disgusted. “I hate to break up this little DMC, but there’s a shifter and two small  _ things  _ here to see ya, Eric.”

He and Godric exchanged a glance as they followed Pam out to the main area, which was fairly quiet this early in the night. Sam Merlotte and two human children were sitting on one of the sofas, so Eric took to reclining in front of them on the opposite one.

“How can I help?” he asked once he was comfy.

“There’s a maenad In Bon Temps,” Sam began uneasily. Eric sighed.

“Why should I help rid that backwards town of a maenad?”

“Sookie thinks it was what attacked Alice - I didn’t even know she’d been hurt by it.”

Now  _ that _ got a reaction out of Eric, and he tensed for a moment. He made eye contact with Godric who shook his head as if to suggest Eric shouldn’t give himself away so easily.

“Say I do help… what do I get out of this?” There it was, the ultimate Eric Northman bartering tool: distract the shifter from the fact he cared about Alice by trying to strike a deal.

“I can offer daytime protection for Alice if you need it,” Sam said, trying his best not to look cocky. So he’d noticed Eric’s initial reaction, and the vampire pursed his lips.

“I think I know someone who can give me more information on how to defeat a maenad,” he said cryptically. “What do you know about Alice?”

“Nothing. Why?” Sam frowned. “Should I know something?”

“Only that she can be vulnerable, and nothing else.” Eric sat up straight in his seat now. “And you do not ask her any invasive questions. She’s a private person.”

Sam nodded. “Gotcha.”

“Can we see your fangs?” asked one of the two children. Eric eyes then oddly for a second before obliging, making them jump a little. The boy was in awe, while the girl seemed more afraid. “What’s the matter? Don’t you like vampires?”

“Our nearly step-daddy hated vampires, but he’s dead now and I don’t mind you guys,” she said. Eric chuckled and retracted his fangs, standing up and straightening his grey suit jacket.

“You make me glad I never had any of you,” Pam commented.

“Don’t be like that Pam, they’re funny - they’re humans, but miniature. Teacup humans.”

She folded her arms stubbornly and walked off behind the bar, not particularly wanting to be around the children anymore.

“Come, Godric and I will walk you out,” he said, gesturing towards the door.

He and the older vampire led the way out of Fangtasia and into the car park, where they let Sam takeover and lead them to the car.

“When can I expect to hear back from you?” Sam asked, placing his hands on either shoulder of the two children.

“Hopefully before the end of tonight. I’ll come to that dip in the road you call home,” Eric told him before leaning down towards the children, unaware of Godric rolling his eyes. “Good night tiny humans.”

He straightened up, glanced back at Godric, and they flew off into the night.

There was no need to communicate where they were going - hopefully they would be at their destination within half an hour. New Orleans was at the south end of Louisiana, but it was no trouble for the two of them to fly there.

They landed outside a well guarded property, where they were questioned by the vampire security before they were even allowed to pass onto it. The pair were both fixing their hair and clothing as they walked across the marble stepping stones to the front door of a very large, very ornate manor house.

Before they could enter, the last person they wanted to see stepped out.

Bill.

“What are you doing here?” He scowled up at Eric.

“Oh, just coming here to find out how to kick a maenad’s ass,” Eric responded casually.

“Why do you care what happens in Bon Temps?”

“Mr Merlotte made a deal with Eric in regards to Alice,” Godric told him. “He told us that Sookie believes it was the creature that attacked Alice… actually, Eric, you failed to mention how Alice was attacked…” he eyed his progeny, a little unimpressed.

“You want to protect the girl?” Bill asked.

“Of course we do; you want to protect Miss Stackhouse, but the difference between you and is is that I can keep my distance emotionally,” Eric told him.

“As long as you stay away from Sookie.”

" _Please_ , like I have any interest in her,” Eric scoffed. “Do tell her from me that her services in Dallas were very much appreciated and she can expect her payment soon.”

“Fine,” Bill huffed. “But after that you keep your distance. You wouldn’t want the Queen to find out you’re selling vampire blood, do you? Or about Alice?”

Eric growled and squared up to Bill; the only thing stopping him from ripping a limb off in that moment was Godric’s hand on his arm, and the fact there were guards around the perimeter of the property. It took everything in him not to drop fang.

“I do not like threats, Compton,” he eventually said, backing down. Godric let go of him.

“Neither do I. Enjoy your visit, gentlemen, and it’s good to see you alive and well, Godric.”

Godric gave Bill a nod of acknowledgement for his kind statement before the young vampire sped off into the night.

The pair glanced at each other before entering the Queen’s home; all grandeur and Roman-Like with the decor. They walked straight through to the atrium where she was sat by a little pool with two companions - one a human male, the other a human female who smelled quite delightful. They were sat around a little table playing Yahtzee.

The Queen was dressed for summer by a beach, looking quite elegant in her white swimsuit and chiffon gown, her red hair and lips done perfectly. Upon seeing Eric and Godric she hopped immediately to greet them.

“Eric Northman, I would say it’s a pleasure but… perhaps not. You’ve been keeping things from me…” she wagged her finger at him as if he were a naughty child. Regardless, he bowed his head in respect. “And Godric! Wonderful to hear you’re well. The Fellowship must have sucked, huh? Are you here visiting?”

He too, bowed his head in respect as she initially spoke. “Actually, I’m here to pledge fealty to your Queendom, Sophie-Anne. There wasn’t anything left for me in Texas after I was stripped of my sheriff title, so I came back here with Eric. So if you’ll have my service, I’ll be glad of it. I renounce my allegiance to the Texas kingdom.”

She seemed surprised. “Oh! Well, I’d certainly be happy to have you on my side. Please, do come join us for a game.”

They followed after her, joining her and the little entourage at the small table. Sitting down on the floor in a suit was difficult, but Eric and Godric managed it.

Sophie-Anne went first in the game, starting up a brand new conversation.

“By the way, did you know there’s a maenad in Renard Parish?”

“That’s why we’re here, your majesty,” Godric said.

“Don’t bother getting involved,” she said curtly, passing on the container and dice to the male human. “I told Compton a few bits of hand-me-down information, but who knows if it’s gospel or gorilla shit? Speaking of, I heard he’s monogamous with a human, and you might be on your way to that too, Northman.” She directed the last part with a glare at Eric, who gave her a wry smile.

“It’s not like that,” he insisted.

“Then what is it like? Because something’s been up with you a for a while now, and I figured whatever it was could be good leverage over your head to sell my blood  _ and _ your blood. Compton mentioned a girl - apparently she’s a pretty little thing. What was her name? Ah yes, Alice,” Sophie-Anne reeled off everything so quickly that it didn’t give either vampire time to react. “Oh, and how does he know you’re selling the blood? My guards hear  _ everything. _ ”

“Alice isn’t of any use to you,” Eric lied through his teeth. He knew someone as powerful as Sophie-Anne would want to utilise Alice’s power in some way; that was not going to happen by any means. He was incredibly tense again. “Compton wants to keep the Stackhouse girl safe and I think we just confirmed he’d do anything to ensure that.”

“Alice needs to be kept safe. Hidden. Her personal life has been tricky for the past year or so, and her being friends with Eric has proven good,” Godric carried on. “Not only for herself, but for my progeny too. He’s understanding humans a little better, which is something all vampires could stand to do.”

“Urgh, I forgot you’ve gotten weird in your old age…” Sophie-Anne remarked with a melodramatic shudder. Watching intently as Godric took his play at Yahtzee.

“As for the blood, I have no idea how he found out about it. I’ll deal with him personally. He’s a threat to the whole scheme  _ and _ our friend’s safety,” Eric said.

She wasn’t quite buying it. “No, there’s got to be more to the girl than that. Compton said she was… strange, in her own little way. Tell me, or I’ll find out for myself and you won’t like it. Especially if she is a ‘friend.’”

“We’re not lying about the fact she’s had a bad time recently,” Godric said hurriedly. “But she is unique. One touch of her hand - if she’s not concentrating properly - and she’ll see a part of your future.”

The Queen’s jaw hit the floor. It took her a moment or two to collect herself.

“Hadley. Lukas. Please leave us.”

The two humans didn’t need telling twice.

“Okay,” Sophie-Anne said, turning oddly calm and far less chatty than she had been that night. She let out a breath. “Okay. So that’s why Northman’s been a little off recently. Have you been trying to train her?”

“Yes. She lacks control,” he answered her. “Godric can help more - it runs in her family, and he knew her grandmother  _ very _ well.”

“Okay. Good.” The fact she’d become gravely serious within the space of a minute troubled both Eric and Godric. “You need to keep her hidden. I won’t say a word about this to anyone.”

“What’s wrong, your majesty?”

She pursed her lips for a moment before carrying on. “As you know, I am in constant conversation with the King of Mississippi because I’m  _ constantly _ rejecting his marriage proposals. And sometimes, we talk about things other than politics and… he’s got someone at his mansion who is just like Alice. And she’s been there since the eighties. She’s in full control of her powers - because there’s more than one, but they all tie in together so  _ beautifully.  _ Keep Alice away from Russell. I won’t hold this over you, but for fuck’s sake - sell the fucking blood.”

“You’re going to help protect her?” Eric frowned, not sure if he was ready to believe his Queen just yet.

“They’re rare breeds, and some very powerful, very mean vampires could use them to change the future when you think about it. If Compton tried to use Alice against you to protect Sookie Stackhouse, I’d be very wary of him.”

“Hold on…” cogs were clearly whirring in Godric’s mind as he read between the lines of what Sophie-Anne was saying. “Why are  _ you _ so interested in Miss Stackhouse?”

She blanched for a split second, but then shrugged it off. “None of your business. Just know he’s trying to screw you over more than you originally thought.” A beat, and then: “I expect you may want to get back to Alice now, won’t you?”

“That would be wise of us, yes…” Godric said uneasily as he and Eric got up to leave.

“Thank you, your majesty, for your brief hospitality and information,” Eric said with a full length bow. She nodded.

“Northman just do me a favour and don’t fall in love with the girl. It’s clear as night that you’re fucking her. You’ve been pretty much a statue since we mentioned her name this evening,” Sophie-Ann warned him. “People will use that against you if they knew.”

Eric licked his lips in thought. “I’m fucking her, yes, but we maintain a secure friendship. I don’t fall in love with humans.”

She waved them off after that.

On their way out, Godric went to make a comment and Eric hissed at him.

“We’re close friends, yes, and I’m careful with her, but why wouldn’t I be? She’s as fragile as a  _ fjäril. _ ”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Godric replied as they stepped outside. “But go to her tonight. I should inform Pam of what we learnt.”

Even though they headed back north to Shreveport together, they went their separate ways upon arriving back to the city. Godric headed to the industrial district, and Eric headed towards the familiar suburban area where Alice lived.

Lucky for him, her window was ajar even though her curtains were shut. Eric slipped into her room to find her fast asleep. It was coming up to midnight, and she sounded deep asleep. Perhaps she really had been worn out after the previous night, especially if it had been followed up by a day of work.

Eric closed the window with a quiet click when an idea popped into his head.

He took off his shoes and jacket (leaving them on the chair at her vanity), creeping across her room and downstairs into the kitchen. He had to rummage around a little before he found some tin foil, a sponge and a bowl. He filled up the bowl with a bit of water and headed back up to her bedroom. He set the roll of tin foil on the window ledge and dipped the sponge into the bowl of water before wetting her windows ever so slightly. He started tearing off strips of tin foil and sticking them to the window.

The rustling of the foil turned out to disturb Alice, and he could hear her murmuring in confusion. Eric stopped in his tracks and went to go hush her, telling her he’d be there in a minute.

As he went back to his odd task, Eric couldn’t help but notice the effect of the tin foil really did have an instant blacking out effect. He layered the foil on top of each other, just to make sure there were no gaps or tears that the sun could get through. He shut the curtains too. None of the street light came through in the slightest.

_ Maybe filmmakers weren’t so crazy after all, _ he thought to himself.

Eric knew he should tidy up, but he didn’t want to at that moment. All he wanted to do was hold Alice.

He stripped off his shirt and socks, depositing them with his other items of clothing before crawling into bed beside her. Alice had her back to him so he pressed against her as close as he possibly could, draping an arm over her waist and sliding one under the crook of her neck at the bottom of the pillow - he was effectively spooning her.

She stirred again. “What are you doing?” she mumbled.

“Blacked out your windows. I’m staying here tonight,” he whispered. “Go back to sleep,  _ min fjäril _ .  _ Vi kommer att tala imorgon _ .”

“Okay…”

Eric frowned, confused by his own decision to switch to Swedish midway through talking to her. Either way, he realised Alice didn’t particularly notice or care, but the word  _ imorgon _ was probably enough for her to make an educated guess of “morning,” although “tomorrow” was a better translation for it.

He could feel how content she was now that he was here, and she drifted off peacefully. He didn’t care that there were a few hours until sunrise, because after learning what he did at the Queen’s house…

Eric wanted Alice as safe as was possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eric was saying in Swedish that he would "talk to her tomorrow." :)


	33. Safety

It was nice waking up next to Eric in her own home, although Alice found it difficult to prise herself out of his stone cold grip. She wondered why he’d ended up here, and almost got worried for a second. Then she vaguely remembered him talking to her about the “morning” while she was half asleep, and realised he’d speak to her later on in the night.

Alice went about her day as normal, only she got dressed in the bathroom because there was actual daylight in there, and her bedroom was currently blacked out. She could have put on the lights, yes, but there was always the off chance of disturbing Eric and she didn’t particularly want to do that.

The fact he was asleep in her house left her a little distracted for most of the day; she couldn’t focus properly, but she was able to at least hide it while working. The hours seemed to tick by slowly, and the nagging feeling that something was wrong kept increasing with every passing second.

While on her drive home in the early evening, Alice realised she didn’t have any TruBlood in her fridge for Eric. She ended up stopping off at the shops to get some before finally,  _ finally _ heading home.

The sun was just starting to set as she cooked pasta for dinner, and she knew that Eric would rise while she was eating. That was good. They could talk over dinner. Or maybe that wouldn’t be good, she had no idea.

She was right, though, Eric made an appearance while she was eating. He’d thrown on a black shirt - she assumed it was what he’d been wearing the night before - that went nicely with his grey suit trousers. It made her wonder how he’d slept in those.

“There’s blood in the fridge,” Alice told him, but he waved it off. Not needed for tonight, apparently. Instead he sat opposite her at the table, troubled. A pit formed in her stomach so she put down her fork, suddenly not hungry anymore. “What’s wrong?”

“Bill Compton. He’s… he’s attempting to go to great lengths to protect Miss Stackhouse, it seems,” Eric started off cryptically. “The Queen - our Queen in Louisiana, her name is Sophie-Anne - seems to have some interest in Sookie. Bill is trying to use you as some kind of bartering tools for her safety.”

Alice stared at Eric in silence; he appeared to be incredibly uncomfortable as he told her that, almost as if he didn’t want her to know. His feelings were all the over the place too - it made her think it was far worse than just Bill.

“Anything else?” she asked him quietly, and he sighed as he clasped his hands on the table. Her heart was starting to race.

“There may be a vampire in another state who would be interested in you. But that’s not a problem for the time being, it’s just something to be wary of. Bill is the main issue here, but I’ve already called someone to subdue him and bring him to Fangtasia later on tonight.”

Alice could feel how uneasy he really was now, and she knew there was one more point that was going to be the kicker. She didn’t want to know what it was, but at the same time she needed to know.

“Carry on. I know there’s one more thing left for you to say,” she said, her bottom lip trembling. Eric’s shoulders sagged, and she knew he was saving the worst until last.

“Ali…” he said softly. “If people - humans and vampires alike - knew how close we were… if they knew what you could do… they could use you to get to me, or vice versa. I want to protect you, but there’s a chance that- that it’s making things worse.”

Her face went stony and paled, trying to figure out what Eric was getting at. There was a desperation in him right now, a desperation for to understand what he was trying to say - except he was fucking it up.

“Godric would help you better than I ever could,” he continued carefully. “He knows more than I do. Maybe it would be wise - for a few weeks - to keep our distance?”

Alice wanted to know why that last point had to be made. Was the potential of Bill or another big bad vampire enough to scare Eric into not seeing her? Was it  _ that  _ bad? Even though logically, in her mind, it made sense for them to temporarily be apart until anyone sticking their nose where it shouldn’t be had stopped, physically it had shaken her.

She swallowed, trying to formulate a coherent response for Eric to let him know that yes, she did understand, even if the idea of not being able to see him and be with him cut her deep… she couldn’t. Instead her body betrayed her.

Alice could feel the tears forming in her eyes and her mouth becoming drier with every passing second as her heart beat a hard that her breaths became short and fast. So short and fast, in fact, that she was getting light headed. Her entire body felt weak and fuzzy. She needed to regain control, and quickly.

Except she couldn’t.

It was like she had blinked, and now she was being cradled in Eric’s arms on the floor. He was holding her tight and muttering in Swedish in her ear, stroking her hair. She had no idea what she was saying, but as quick as the lightheadedness and the weakness had come on, it started to go away.

He was the first person she became friends with and trusted when she moved here. Yes, it had been under weird circumstances but he’d never been horrible to her, nor had he hurt her. Yes, she probably harboured some feelings towards him because he showed her basic human decency and treated her with respect - something of which her life had been severely lacking in the past year - it was hard not to potentially fall for that.

They’d been umm’ing and ahh’ing about what they were to each other, but if this was her reaction about the prospect of not being able to see him and they were only casually fucking on top of him trying to help her… what the  _ fuck _ would her reaction be if they had been in an actual relationship?

Of course it would be hard to hear that being close with Eric could potentially be dangerous, but at least she could live in the comfort knowing that he wasn’t putting her in danger - it was how others perceived it, and wanted to toy with it. It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t trying to hurt her, he was trying to keep her safe.

“ _ Min kärlek, min fjäril _ , I’m sorry,” he whispered to her. “ _ Snälla, snälla, snälla _ … forgive me.”

“I… I understand,” Alice finally managed to speak after that moment of drama. “But - please.  _ Please. _ Don’t. Don’t go. You promised.”

“I know. I know,” he was trying his best to soothe her. “I wouldn’t be breaking it, I’d be - I’d be protecting you from a distance, just until any threats have passed. I don’t like this any more than you, but it might be the only way.”

Alice was shaking her head stubbornly. “There has to be another way.” Good, she’d found her voice again and was able to actually form a proper sentence. Now it was just a case of her rational mind battling it out with the more emotional part - and the emotional part was winning.

Eric was silent for a moment. “Maybe there is, but I’m not sure  _ what _ it is yet. Maybe I can figure it out once I have Bill in my hands… but for now this is all I’ve got.”

“Can’t we just… try and hide it more?”

“I don’t know. Apparently we’re too obvious anyway,” Eric sighed and pulled back from Alice at little, looking down at her. She looked ill, and it didn’t surprise him because of the conversation they were currently having. “My idea isn’t the best one but really, it’s all I can think of that might keep you out of trouble for a little while.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Alice said, coming back to lean her head on his chest, placing a hand there too so she could fiddle with the shirt buttons for no other reason than she needed something to fiddle with.

Then something strange happened.

Alice’s eyes clouded over, and both she and Eric saw a flash of the bluest, coldest ocean in the middle of a harsh winter. A blonde-haired child sat watching the waves crash.

She practically jumped off his lap and scrambled away from him across the kitchen floor. Her eyes didn’t go back to normal, and every time she touched the floor with her bare hands she began to get progressively more and more distressed. Eric looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“What the - What’s going on?” Alice asked shakily, refusing to touch anything with her hands. “Eric, I - I can’t see. I can’t see.”

“What happens if you touch anything right now?” Eric asked her, a little frantic as he practically hopped across the floor to her. “What do you see?”

“I - I don’t want to find out,” she replied. At that point, her eyes started to flicker between green and milky grey - she squinted, as it visibly irritated her.

“Okay, wrong question - what did you see when you touched the floor?” he asked her more gently.

“A building site,” she said, her eyes finally reverting back to normal and staying that way. When Alice could see again, she was able to calm down properly. “I think it was while they were building this house.”

Eric tensed, particularly because that fact made him realise what she had seen on touching him. “You saw the past?”

She nodded. “Eric… did I just see you as a child?”

“Yes,” he muttered, not wanting to believe it. “We should call Godric.”

Eric took hold of Alice by the forearms and helped her stand up, leading her into the living room and away from her forgotten dinner. She sat down on the sofa while Eric paced the room as he spoke in Swedish down the phone to his maker before he joined her.

He was chewing on his lip, debating what to say during such a strange time. “I still think I should stay away.”

“Let’s not do this right now,” Alice groaned. “Can we leave it until Godric gets here?”

Sure enough, ten minutes later there was a knock on the front door. Alice hurried to go answer, granting Godric entrance and bringing him into the living room. He made himself comfortable on the armchair before asking anything.

“Tell me what happened this evening,” he said.

Eric and Alice glanced at each other.

“Everything or just the incident?” Alice asked carefully. Godric raised an eyebrow as a now mildly irritated Eric nudged her arm with his elbow.

“Tell me everything.”

So they did.

And Godric wasn’t too happy about some of the details, but not shocked by others.

“Eric you’re a fool,” was his first comment. “Are you trying to protect Alice or trying to save your own skin?”

Quicker than Alice could blink, Eric’s fangs had dropped as had Godric’s as they stood squared up to each other. Godric had the advantage of age while Eric had the advantage of height, and oh how the latter vampire was not impressed with that question at all.

“You may be my maker, Godric, but you are in my jurisdiction - I respected that for you in Dallas, perhaps do the same for me here,” Eric hissed.

“That doesn’t change the fact you’re planning to go about this the wrong way - are you still considering it now? After what just happened with Alice?” 

Seeing Godric angry was something she hadn’t expected to see, nor was she prepared for it. Alice wanted to gently break them apart, but as of right now she was too scared to move. The only other time she’d seen Eric this irate was when he had his hand around Steve Newlin’s throat.

“This isn’t about me - it’s about her,” Eric spat. “We’re lucky that the Queen wants to help us, but if Mississippi caught wind…”

“You’re paranoid for her safety. I understand. But handing her off to me for a few weeks isn’t going to solve any problems,” Godric retracted his fangs at this point, seeing no reason to be angry anymore. He settled back down in the armchair, and Eric paced up and down the room to work off some steam.

“Godric…” Alice said in a tiny voice. “I do see where Eric’s coming from - at least, the rational side of me does. The emotional side would be… well, would be yearning for him. So far that side is winning out.”

“Is that because you have feelings for Eric?”

That stopped the tall vampire in his tracks.

“Yes,” Alice blurted out without thinking. She slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.

“We’re not doing this now, Godric. I called you here for a different reason,” Eric huffed before making a swift exit from the house.

Alice could feel his confusion, his uncertainty, his denial; she could understand why. She’d never expected to have feelings for him, but if tonight was anything to go by she definitely did. She wondered if Eric felt something too, but only wanted to admit that he cared about her and not more than that because really - she knew he didn’t quite do feelings on that level.

She hadn’t realised she was crying until she noticed that Godric had come to sit next to her, wiping away her tears with his sleeve.

“He’s stubborn and worried. Don’t let it get to you, little one. Now put your shoes on and get the rest of his things, we’re going to finish our talk with him. I’ll wait in the car.

Alice nodded, lowering her hand from her mouth and doing as she was told. She slipped on a pair of brogues she hardly ever wore and put on her usual cardigan. Eric had left his shoes and jacket up in her room, so she brought them out to the car where Godric was sitting in the drivers seat.

She placed Eric’s things in the back and slid into the passenger seat, buckling herself in. Their journey started off in silence, until she started crying a little more loudly and essentially spewing out a stream of consciousness to Godric.

“I didn’t  _ want _ to have feelings for him, but I do - how could I not? I didn’t think I was ready to be with another person but - but life does its thing, right?”

Godric nodded patiently. She sniffed.

“He was too easy to fall for and he’s so  _ nice _ to me but he struggles with that because he’s so stupidly emotionally stunted and it’s - well, it’s annoying.”

He had to refrain from laughing at that.

“Eric is nice to a few people,” he said. “Anyone he considers family. You’ve reached that level almost as quick as Pam did. Trust me.”

“Why did I admit it on tonight of all nights?” Alice was mentally slapping herself for it.

“Better to admit it sooner rather than later,” Godric said softly. “I admitted it a little too late to Rose. But… at least I remained friends with her. You know, she never got the hang of trying to see into people’s pasts. She had no need for it. You probably won’t either but it would be a good idea for you to gain control over it, okay?”

“Okay.” Alice paused for a moment. “I saw Eric as a child.”

“Ah. That may have unnerved him.”

“I think so. Me saying what I said probably didn’t help either.”

“Don’t blame yourself. This is turning out to be quite the emotionally charged night.”

They fell into silence after that, and Alice managed to stop in her crying. Twenty minutes later they arrived at Fangtasia, and she ran into the establishment to find Eric, forgetting about his clothes in the back of the car.

“He’s in the office,” Pam called to her as she bolted across the bar and through to the employee area.

Alice didn’t bother knocking, she burst into the office; that action alone shocked Eric, but not as much as the state of the room shocked her.

He’d been incredibly pissed off about everything, that much was obvious. There were papers everywhere, and he’d slid everything off his desk. Various boxes had been torn from the shelves. Somehow the computer remained unscathed. Eric had been sitting on the desk with his face in his palm, but he’d looked up when she burst in.

Alice took a step back when she saw the carnage. So that was what he was like when beyond the regular level of irate. She didn’t run, though, she knew he could be like that. It was just a rare occurrence to show it, and only came out of a situation was dire or stressful.

She suspected all of this fell into the latter, currently, but had the potential for it to be the former. She shut the door behind her, and leaned against it for a moment.

“You must have known I had feelings for you,” she murmured. Eric crossed his arms and nodded.

“Saying it makes it real,” he replied. “And I’m not the kind of person or vampire anyone would get regular feelings for. I’m not good with that shit.”

Alice shook her head. “You’re probably better at it than you think. I don’t want to make assumptions but… if you don’t want to admit anything right now that’s  _ fine. _ I didn’t mean to earlier, it just slipped out. But… please don’t do this.”

Eric made to speak but Alice held up her hand to stop him. He seemed amused by the action.

“If the only actual problem right now is Bill Compton, then fine. The rest we can deal with as it comes. But you are  _ not  _ handing me off to Godric. I’m not an object to be passed around - I’m a person; a woman with feelings, a personality, a bit of trauma, and you will continue to treat me as a person as you have done since the day we met.”

Alice stood straight after she said that, holding her head high and proud of herself for being able to coherently say that without a single waver. Admittedly, she did feel like she was going to throw up because she hadn’t stood up for herself properly for the first time in a while. It took everything in her to keep standing upright.

Eric’s lips twitched upwards in an impressed half smile. In one smooth motion he was off the desk and standing directly in front of her, never breaking eye contact. He took some time to consider her case before he spoke; when he did, it wasn’t what she was expecting.

“Is that a secret feisty streak?” he asked her, his voice dripping with his usual cockiness.

“It sometimes comes out, yes.”

“Well. I can’t argue with what you just said. We’ll handle it together - me, you, Godric, and Pam. On the condition that - should things go south - if I tell you to hide, you hide. If I tell you to run, you run. And I’ll join you after I’ve killed the fucker trying to get to you.”

Eric had her pressed against the door now, their faces inches from each other’s. As annoyed as she was for the turmoil of emotions he’d put her through that night, she was fighting back the urge to kiss him.

“Fine.”

She let her resolve break after that, her knees going weak as she really thought she was going to be sick there and then on the spot. Eric managed to get her sitting on the sofa before she could hit the floor for the second time that night. There was a knock on the door after that, and Eric grunted so as to give permission for the person to enter - it was Godric.

He stared around the office in distaste, eyeing Eric with an ancient tiredness as the blonde vampire came to sit back on his desk.

“So. Alice can see the future and the past,” Godric really got down to business when he had to. “That’s normal. The latter part starts to manifest in a strange way as you both discovered tonight; in this case, possibly because of your already established bond. It’s easier for Alice to connect with Eric in that way.”

“To be fair, there was a time when we fucked that she placed her hand on my chest and saw a flash of the future - but that was down to lack of concentration,” Eric remarked, making her go pink in the cheeks at the context of the situation. Now was not the time for her to be getting embarrassed.

“I think the main thing we need to sort out is Alice getting both things under control.”

“You know… if Bill does sell me out to someone… maybe me being a bit volatile with what I can do might be a ‘get out of jail free’ card?” Alice said carefully, her brow knotted as she thought it over. “You can’t control the uncontrollable, can you? I’d be of no use.”

Eric and Godric stared at each other, clearly considering themselves stupid for not realising that angle on everything.

“So… everything I suggested about staying away from you would be entirely… moot?” Eric groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“If not even Viking vampire god Eric Northman can control me, who can?” Alice raised an eyebrow at him, before her shoulders slumped. “I think we’re all a little idiotic for not realising that option at the start of this evening. This has been quite the rollercoaster.”

“You nearly fainted twice this evening, isn’t that normal for you at this point?” Eric commented dryly. Alice scowled at him. “Okay. Yeah. I think I know I have some amending to do with you. Let’s just… get back to the topic at hand.”

Godic raised his hand. “I’d like to question why Alice referred to you as a ‘god?’”

Alice let out a frustrated noise. “This isn’t the time! Eric’s having Bill brought in, he’s gonna make it up to me for messing with my head all evening, I need to play an uncontrollable twenty-something, and you…”

“I can negotiate if it comes to it,” Godric said, before directing his next question at Eric. “And what does she mean that you’re having Bill ‘brought in?’”

Eric pursed his lips and stayed silent, as if he were a teenager about to get told off by his father for doing something incredibly naughty. Godric sighed, deeply, and Alice felt that sound in her very soul.

“Eric…” Godric spoke slowly. “Did you send one of your assassins after Bill?”

The other vampire’s refusal to comment was paramount.

“I feel like I should be more shocked at the fact Eric has hired assassins,” Alice said. “Except it fits the bill. Perfectly.”

“Eric, I told you to be sensible about this…”

“It was the only thing I could think of,” Eric shrugged. “Now, are we done here?”

“For tonight, yes. I’ll be on the throne.” Godric gave a curt nod as he left the office, shutting the door behind him with a click.

Alice reclined back on the sofa, exhausted, with her eyelids fluttering closed. It had been an incredibly long, emotional evening to say the least.

“I need to stop thinking the first option I come up with is the only option,” he mused. She nodded silently in response. “I don’t say this a lot, but I’m sorry - particularly for storming out.”

“You said sorry earlier, among all the Swedish,” she whispered. “Don’t worry about it. Please. You said you’ll make amendments - make them the way you want to.”

Eric came to crouch by the head, and leaned down to cautiously press his lips to hers. It didn’t last long, because he didn’t want to push it with Alice right now. He was pleasantly surprised that after pulling away, her hand found its way into his hair to bring him back towards her.

She really couldn’t help herself, but she didn’t let it go further than a deepened kiss. She was wary of him right now, and Eric completely understood why.

Eventually Alice let go of his hand and that’s when he stopped, dropping his head down to her neck and inhaling, his nose lightly brushing against her skin. He nuzzled her like a small animal, a funny thing because he was possibly the tallest person she knew.

“Are you alright?”

“Is this what summer smells like?” he breathed, his breath oddly warm against her. Alice opened her eyes and sat up, Eric moving to sit on the sofa with her now, still with his nose making a journey around her upper body.

“I don’t know. What can you smell?”

He slipped the cardigan off her shoulders and gripped her upper arms. “Sunshine.” He kissed her shoulder. “Pollen.” Her collarbone. “Lavender.” Her neck. “Smoke - like charcoal.” Her jaw. “Something sweet.” Her cheek. Eric pulled back so he could look in her eyes, big and round and watery. Red rimmed and tired. They always did that when she got emotional, or had been emotional.

“Yes. That’s - that’s summer.” Her voice was tiny; she’d been touched by his words and didn’t know how to react accordingly.

Before he could say anything else, someone burst into the office.

Sookie. She currently looked a vision in a lilac evening dress and neatly tied back hair.

“Fuck!” She exclaimed, clearly unhappy with what she saw. Eric jumped up to face her, while Alice readjusted her cardigan.

“Miss Stackhouse. What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?”

“Bill’s been kidnapped and I think - well,  _ thought  _ \- you did it.”

Eric folded his arms. “So what changed your pretty little mind?”

A quick glance at Alice told Eric all he needed to know - he possibly couldn’t have done anything to do with Bill’s disappearance because Alice was there! At least, that’s what Sookie’s look implied. It made him glad she was unable to read Alice’s mind, because her heart rate had jumped up again. The red head was anxious, and he sent her soothing vibes so she didn’t accidentally give the game away.

“If Bill is missing, then as his Sheriff, I am duty bound to find him.” Eric then spied something glinting on her finger. “I guess a congratulations are in order.”

“I’m happy for you, Sookie,” Alice told her with a gentle smile, also staring at the engagement ring.

“Thanks,” she replied uneasily. “When do you think you’ll have answers by?”

“I’ll need to make a few calls,” Eric said. “And I’ll let you know when I know.”

“Okay,” Sookie turned swiftly on her heel to leave, before glancing back over her shoulder at Eric. “By the way, you owe me ten thousand dollars.”

She left without another word, pretty much slamming the door as she went; well, she had been a little agitated about Bill’s disappearance, they could hardly blame her for taking it out on the door.

Eric had immediately tensed up when she left the room, something which Alice picked up.

“It wasn’t your assassin that took Bill, was it?”

He shook his head very slowly in response. “Ali… I think it’s time you leave. Maybe finish your dinner. Go get some rest.” There was an edge to his voice that made her worried as she stood from the sofa. He sensed it, so he placed his hand on the small of her back as she walked towards the door.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said stiffly, kissing the top of her head. “I just gotta make a phone call. You probably shouldn’t be around for that.”

Alice didn’t need telling twice.


End file.
